The Wolverine
by Neo Fox Legend
Summary: His memories are gone. All he has left are his name and shiny set of claws. And using those claws he carves out a new path to the future. And who knows, maybe he'll meet some interesting people along the way.
1. Chapter 1: New World

Anger. That was all he felt as he glared at his one-time teammate and best friend. Though after the shit show that had been this mission, Naruto was really questioning what he considered a friend now. Sasuke Uchiha was a true bastard.

"You freaky eyed asshole," Naruto growled as he spat out blood and struggled to his feet. The Last Uchiha was more than willing to return the gesture.

"Your one to talk Naruto," Sasuke muttered as he glanced at the blonde's new appearance. Some sort of red energy had surrounded his former teammate, taking on the shape of a fox. His eyes were a fierce blood red color while his whisker marks on his cheeks had darkened and his hair seemed to take on a ragged, feral look. All in all the Uzumaki was looking more animalistic by the second.

"You know ever since that snake asshole gave you that curse hickey, you've been a bigger pain than usual," Naruto shouted as to took in Sasuke's new look. His skin had taken a tanned tone, while his hair had gone from black to gray. The strangest part of his transformation was the two hand like appendages that had sprouted from his back, giving him wings. "Just end this already! Come back to the village! We can sort this out with baa-chan and the pervy sage!"

"There is no going back," Sasuke said in return as dark electricity began to build around his hand.

Naruto looked at the charging electricity. And at that moment any respect he had for his teammate disappeared. He knew what the Chidori was and what it was used for. At this moment his anger reached a point that it had never reached before.

'Hey, Fox. I don't know if you can hear me, but I need you to give me everything you can!" Naruto thought to the bijuu residing inside of him. Deep within the confines of the seal, the fox stirred

 **'Hehe fine. You better rip this little Uchiha shit to pieces brat."** The Kyuubi replied with a bloodthirsty grin as sent another tails worth of chakra to his blond jailer. As much as the demon fox hated being in his current circumstances, he hated the Uchiha clan even more.

Naruto felt the effects immediately as another tail started to sway behind him. He had never gone this far with the Kyuubi's chakra. One tail was almost overpowering, but this new wave of energy was about to make him go ballistic. Naruto began to charge up his own technique The swirl of chakra forming in his hand started out blue but quickly began to change to a dark red color.

The two rivals sent one last look to one another. They both knew that this was it for them. The last attack that either one of them could muster up.

Naruto knew that he had to keep his promise to Sakura. But as he glared at Sasuke, he also knew that it didn't mean he had to bring him back with both limbs intact. With that thought passing through him, Naruto began to charge at Sasuke. Sasuke doing the same.

"Rasengan!"

"Chidori!"

The two teens collided in mid-air. Rasengan vs Chidori. Pure chakra vs corrupted electricity. In that single moment, something happened that neither genin expected. Naruto's Rasengan was made up of a mixture of Naruto's own chakra and the chakra that belonged to the demonic beast that resided in his gut. Sasuke's Chidori was corrupted by the curse seal making it a dark mixture of natural and unnatural. Both energies colliding could only equal one outcome.

Pure chaos.

White energy began to pour from the colliding attacks forming a dome around the two teens. Soon there was more pain then either teen had ever felt coursing through them. This pain spread through both teen's bodies, but neither of them wanted to back down. Both of them had goals that they wished to obtain, even at the cost of their own well being.

Determination filled Naruto as he glared at his rival. He refused to go down like this. Refused to go down to his teammate with the dark lovebite. With this determination came a rage that was completely new to him and with this rage he found a new reason to beat Sasuke. He wasn't doing it for Sakura anymore. Wasn't doing it for Konoha. Wasn't doing anyone person.

He was doing it to prove that he was the better person. Better warrior. Better ninja. And with that, his Rasengan began to overpower the Chidori, shocking Sasuke as the red orb slammed into his hand started to shred his arm apart. A new pain formed in Sasuke as he finally noticed what had happened to him. He was forced back due to the power of the attack and slammed into the water.

Naruto didn't think Sasuke was dead, but at the moment he didn't really care. Because the orb began to shift around and collapse around him. Even as it did though Naruto smiled.

Because he won. He beat the supposed strongest genin in the village. And even if this weird energy killed him, he still had that. That was the last thing he thought before the pain became too much and he blacked out.

* * *

Pain surged through Naruto as he slowly began to open his eyes. He didn't recognize his surroundings as the trees didn't match anything in Fire country. And it was cold. Much too cold. He tried to move, but the pain was too much and screamed.

He remembered the fight with Sasuke and he couldn't help but grin. That bastard had the beating coming to him and he was glad he was the one who did it. If he could move his body he would be jumping in joy, but that seemed off the table right now.

"Well, this is bad." He muttered to himself as struggled to roll to his back. Bad was an understatement. He was in an unknown area with numerous injuries. He was up shit creek without a paddle. Naruto did know that if he didn't start to recover soon he would be easy pickings for any predators out there. Hopefully, he wasn't in some land with giant snakes.

He groaned as he tried to stand and looked at his form. Numerous cuts and gashes littered his form, but to his shock, they were healing at an amazing rate.

'Hey, Fox! Is this your doing?' Naruto thought to his tenant as he continued to heal. He had always had a good healing factor, but this was something else. Usually, it took him up to a day to fully heal, but this was happening much quicker.

 **'You foolish brat! Do you have any idea what you've done!'** The demon fox roared so loudly that it made Naruto's already pounding head hurt even more.

'Damn! Fine I guess you're in no mood right now.' Naruto thought with a grunt as his sore and beaten body finally got off the ground. His wounds were healing to a point that there wasn't even a scar on him. Except for the mark on his chest where Sasuke had scored a hit with a Chidori. There was a large scar on his chest from that attack, but he would just have to wear that one with pride.

 **'Due to your petty squabble with that Uchiha, we are no longer in our world!'** The Kyuubi shot back and Naruto froze in his spot.

"What do you mean our world!?" Naruto asked vocally in shock.

 **'Let me put it bluntly to you so your insignificant mind can comprehend what I'm about to tell you. When your attacks collided it create a breach in our world. A rip so to speak. We were unlucky when you fell in brat because when you entered that breach it did something to you! Change you into something else!'** Kyuubi explained with a snarl.

'So is that why my healing abilities are so much stronger?' Naruto asked as dropped to the ground again.

 **'Let's just say you are less of a human and more of a something else...'** The fox muttered as everything went silent inside his head. All this new information almost caused Naruto to have a mental breakdown. Another world. New healing powers. And to top it off he was no longer just a human. He didn't know what, but if the overgrown fuzzball wasn't telling him it couldn't be good.

Then all at once everything went seemed to slow down and Naruto could smell and hear everything around him. Smell the day-old scent of the mother grizzly and her two cubs. Hear the flapping as a hawk took off from way above him. It was so much to register and so very amazing.

"Is this how you see the world, Fox?" Naruto wondered aloud as he continued to take deep inhales of air. He received no answer, but he could have sworn he heard a deep chuckle. "It's not so bad.." Whatever had happened to him had increased his sense of sight and smell and he was actually kind of alright with it.

"Alright first things first," Naruto said as he slowly began to move around, "I need to figure out just where the hell I am."

* * *

Two weeks. That was how long Naruto had been stuck out in the middle of nowhere. A long two weeks spent forging and hunting for whatever food he could find and whatever training he could fit in. His chakra control was still pretty terrible and if anything his chakra had increased since having come to this new world. He had also tried getting into contact with Konoha via Toad summoning, but something strange had happened. Something was blocking his summoning. He could bring forth the correct amount of chakra to summon a toad like Gamakichi and do the correct hand signs, but nothing would happen. It was like he was cut off. To make matters even worse, the fox had gone completely silent ever since the first day and was of no help.

He had made camp in a cave that was not far from a river. It was dry and it kept him protected from the elements. Naruto had also done his best to go unnoticed from any humans that were in the area. He had no idea if they were hostile or not and he had no wish to find out. He had noticed a couple of things about these people from his time here. For one they spoke an entirely different language than him, so he had no clue as to what any of them were saying. Another thing was that they didn't use chakra at all. And lastly, he hadn't seen a single shinobi or kunoichi since he had arrived here.

All in all these the few people that he had seen seemed relaxed if not happy from being out here. It was actually kind of nice to see people just relaxing and enjoying nature. But something seemed different today. There was a new scent in the air. Something foreign. Naruto thought that it smelled like metal. Whatever it was he would need to keep an eye out for anything strange.

'Hey, Fox you awake?' A growl was his answer.

 **'Now I am you little shit. What do you want?'** Kyuubi asked annoyed at being bothered. Oh, how he missed the days where the blonde screwup was oblivious to his existence. At least then he could get a proper nap in peace without being bugged by his brat of a jailer.

'Was just wondering if you had any ideas on how to get home?' Naruto longed to see the massive gates and walls of his home village. He missed his friends and teammates and every day he was gone made him more determined to get back.

 **'Brat if I had any ideas I wouldn't tell you in the first place.'** The fox answered with a snort. **'Besides, why do you wish to go back! They treated you like shit in that village! You're better off without those ignorant fools!'**

'Shut up you asshole!'

 **'Why? Does the truth hurt brat?'** The smug voice of the fox was starting to piss him off, but Naruto was also having a hard time refuting what he was saying. While he had made some incredible friends in the village, the majority of people still ignored him or outright expressed their hatred of him.

Before Naruto could further argue with the fox, he smelled that new scent again. Only this time it was much closer. Naruto jumped up and landed on a tree branch. Looking out into the forest, he saw multiple figures with strange weapons in their hands. Using his new hearing, he tried to listen in on them.

"Approaching area where energy signature was last located." One of the figures said as he approached Naruto's makeshift home.

"Be careful. Don't want to alert the target." Another one of them said and that was Naruto needed know and he booked it out of there. He had no idea who these guys were but they were looking for him. And that couldn't be good.

Trying to be as silent as possible, he began to travel by jumping from tree branches. His small body easily cleary any distance. A smirk fell on his face he prepared to jump again. So caught up in being silent, he failed to notice that the next branch was a dead branch.

"Aaah!" He fell over 50 feet to the cold hard ground with all eyes on him. "Oww that hurt." Seeing that half a dozen goons in black were now staring at him, Naruto could only do one thing. "Uh hi?" with one hand raised in greeting.

"Target spotted!"

"Take him down."

' **Run you,** **idiot!'** The fox roared from inside Naruto. Taking off at incredible speeds, Naruto pushed past several of the soldiers, ignoring the pain the came from his oddly bent arm. It hurt like a bitch, but Naruto didn't want to be caught by these people so he would quit his griping about it. Even now the break was healing so it was like he had nothing to worry about.

A loud bang came from behind him and Naruto saw a small dart fly past him and hit a tree in front of him.

'Shit!' After seeing these strange darts, Naruto ran even faster, channeling chakra to his legs.

"Target is out of sight. Moving an unknown speed southwest!"

"Unit three is in the area. Stay on this freak and bring him down!"

Naruto ran faster than he had ever run before and when he saw that there were reinforcements coming in he knew what he had to do. These men were coming in those strange machines called vehicles. He would need to get out of here fast.

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Several clones appeared in a cloud of smoke. His chakra control might suck worse than usual right now but he could still use his signature technique.

"Shit now there's ten of the brat!" One of the soldiers cried and the blonde smirked as they all darted up into the trees. Bouncing from tree to tree, Naruto sailed past the soldiers. He was home free. And then something drilled into him and pain surged through his body.

"AHHH SSSHHHIIIITTTT!"

For the second time that day he fell and hit the forest floor. He laid there as numerous soldiers surrounded him with there weapons pointed at him. A new figure pushed past the soldiers and glanced down at Naruto. He to had one of those strange weapons on him and his gear looked more sophisticated than the others. He raised his hand to touch something by his ear. Some sort of communication device Naruto thought.

"This Agent Zero. Target acquired. Returning to base now." Agent Zero said as he looked to one of his fellow soldiers. "Put this kid under already."

"Yes, sir." Before Naruto could react the soldier aimed his weapon and fired one of those darts at him. Dizziness filled Naruto's vision. "Jeez, this kid's still going." Another dart hit Naruto and all he was darkness.

* * *

Confusion and agony filled his very being as he awoke inside a tank. Numerous needle-like drills were inserted into him and an animalistic rage took over. Red filled his vision as his eyes darted across the massive room. People stood around him in lab coats as his red eyes looked at him. He could sense there fear. They should be afraid. Pissing off the alpha predator was never a good thing. There was one person he was particularly looking for though. He just didn't know who.

His rage was quickly taking over as pain filled his hands. Hatred filled his being and he willed himself out of the of the tub.

"Rrraaaahhhh!" The drills fell from his body as he jumped out of the tub. He grabbed one of the scientists and threw him across the room. The unfortunate man he grabbed slammed into a nearby machine causing sparks to go through the air. Alarms went off and panic filled the room as people struggled to get out. His hands were hurting even more.

Three Soldiers came into the room with there guns pointed at him. A normal man would have been scared. He wasn't normal though. They fired there M16's and bullets struck him throughout his body. And he didn't even flinch. More pain to add on. He growled as all the pain finally emerged from his hands.

Snikt!

Long metal claws erupted from his hands. Three out of each hand, sharp and covered in blood. With a swipe, he cut straight through one of the soldiers, causing the man to drop to his knees as blood spewed from his stomach. The other two saw there comrade go down and began to fire again, but he jumped right at them. Claws at the ready he speared one of the soldiers, claws piercing the man's chest. He was dead before he hit the ground. The last one went to make a run for it, but Naruto pounced one last time and with a swing of his claws took off the man's head. It fell to the floor next to the soldier's body.

Heavy breaths filled the room as he looked around at the carnage. He raised his hands and looked at his claws. Panic and rage filled his body.

"AAAGGGHHH!" He screamed like an animal as everything caught up to him. They did this to him! They tortured him. They would pay! "STRYKER!" They had taken everything from him! He would make them pay. More soldiers charged into the room and he was ready.

* * *

Tiredness and hatred. It was an odd combination of emotions, but they were the only things he felt right now as he was running through the cold snowy ground. All he could do was run. Run from the hell that had him contained and tortured. He had cut and butchered and bled as he ran. All he wanted to was stop. But the fear existed that they were right behind him. That they would come for him. And he would never be someone's guinea pig ever again.

He looked down at his hands. Dried blood had smeared them a dark red color and he thought back to his claws. And every time he thought of them, he thought of the memories he had lost.

He had no clue who he was. Where he came from. Who his family was. All the memories that were the most important to a person were gone. Every time he tried to remember, he drew a huge blank. As the wind blew around him, he tried to remember his name. He dropped to the ground, lost in his thoughts. Frustration brewed deep within him.

'What is my name?!' He asked himself, hoping that some answer would come to him.

 _ **'Naruto...'**_ He heard a voice say faintly. So convinced that heard something he stood and released his claws, ready for a fight.

"Who's there!" He shouted as he glanced around the woods warily. "Show yourself!"

 _ **'Naruto..'**_ There it was again. That voice! He knew that voice! But it seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"Help me! Please!" He cried as he spun around desperately looking for the voice. His head was hurting so bad. It was excruciating.

 **'NARUTO!'** The voiced roared loudly that it seemed to echo in his head and he collapsed in pain, holding the side of his head.

It went quiet again, allowing him to slowly calm down as the pain resided.

"Naruto...That's my name..." He said with a small grin. Finally, something he could remember. His name was the last thing he thought of as he finally allowed himself to relax and slip into sleep.

His name was Naruto.

* * *

So hey guys. I'm back from my long hiatus. Really got back into writing recently and a realized that I wanted to continue with my Wolverine Naruto story. But I didn't want to continue the first one because honestly, I wanted to do it better. So hopefully this one will be what I wanted the first one to be. As always I own none of this, It's not mine, nor will it ever be mine.

Til next time dudes.


	2. Not a new chapter, but still important

This is not a new chapter. I'm still working on it. As many of you already know the great Stan Lee has passed away. I was just getting out of class yesterday when I found out. I knew the guy was 95 years old, but it still struck me hard. The first comic I ever picked up was an issue of Spiderman. I wouldn't have my deep love for comics and characters if it weren't for him. The man was truly a legend who taught me a lot through his vast world of characters and art. Strangely as it sounds his death is like losing a close friend. The only thing I can say now is to be at peace, Mr. Lee and know that you will forever live on with your creation, the Marvel Universe.

Til next time guys


	3. Chapter 2: Same Old Naruto

Naruto opened his eyes to see himself inside a darkened sewer. Water up to his knees with barely any light in it, save the strange pipes that were above his head. They glowed a dangerous red color.

"Where the hell am I?" Naruto asked aloud in confusion. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep exhausted and now he's inside some kind of tunnel. "And what's with the light show?" Something about those pipes stirred something inside him. They were familiar to him. He just didn't know why.

 **"Naruto..."** That strange voice. It was calling to him. He knew that voice. Not even hesitating, Naruto ran towards the voice.

"Wait!" The tunnel seemed so damn long. As fast as he ran, it just went on and on. And then all of a sudden it stopped.

In front of a huge cage.

Massive bars erupted from the floor, guarding a huge darkened enclosure. Naruto couldn't see anything in the darkness, but he could feel it. Something about these bars was holding back power.

Massive red eyes flashed before. Eyes as big as him. They were filled with anger, rage and something else. Before he could question whatever was hiding in the darkness it roared. It wouldn't have affected Naruto too much.

Except for this roar felt more like an F5 tornado.

Wind blasted him off his feet and into the air. As he was flying through, he could swear that he saw large, sharp teeth grinning back at him.

* * *

"Holy shit!" Sweat poured down his body as he sat up in his bed.

When he had awoken from unconsciousness, he was covered in snow and slowly starting to freeze his ass off. A little while later he had found a cabin. Fully stocked with clothing, can food, and books. He had been staying in this hunting cabin for a little more than two months now. Spring was well on its way, and he was starting to think now was the time to start moving on to somewhere new.

His time here was spent reading every book in the damn place when he wasn't gathering firewood or hunting the local wildlife. He looked for any knowledge that could help him in his current circumstances.

Now he had a basic understanding of the French language, knew how to play chess, and a decent ability to cook. There was a drawback to all this newfound knowledge.

It did jack shit to help him with his memory problems.

Frustration filled Naruto as he stayed in this damn cabin for more than two months and he still remembered nothing of his past. There would be days that he would work himself up into an enraged frenzy trying to remember anything about himself only to take his anger out on anything that was nearest to him. Trees mostly. Huge trees that he would hack apart with his claws until he finally calmed himself.

He was never short on firewood.

As frustrated as he was with his current lot in life, at least he wasn't naked in the middle of the woods now. He stood up from his bed and made his way over to a bowl of water that he left out just in case he had a nightmare. Splashing water in his face in a bad attempt to help wake him up. He looked up to look in the mirror. The young haunted face that stared back he didn't recognize.

He was a teenager that he knew to be a basic fact. About 15 or 16 years old. He was on the short side only being about 5'6 in height. His most distinctive features had to be the wild blonde hair that sprouted from his scalp, his sharp blue eyes, and the six whisker marks that were on his face. Three on each cheek.

"Who are you Naruto?" He asked himself as he brought a hand up to his face. At that moment the anger was back and before he knew he had smashed his hand into the mirror, glass shattering everywhere. Blood poured from him as the glass cut into his skin. He looked at his hand with narrowed eyes and began to pull the glass out. Pain mattered little to him. Every cut and every wound would heal. Eventually.

He sniffed the air. There was a new scent to it. People were close. It was time to disappear.

Having left one of the windows open, Naruto was barely able to squeeze through and take cover in some nearby bushes. His eyes were locked on the approaching figures. There was a trail that led up to the cabin and he could make out two people who were walking up to his sanctuary. One was a woman. She had long red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and was wearing a green turtleneck, a brown jacket, a pair of jeans, and hiking boots. He would also admit that she was very pretty in a nerdy way due to the glasses that framed her face. The other person was a man. He had a short black hair cut in a military style and was we a green flannel, jeans, and hiking boots also.

Naruto let loose a low growl and disappeared amongst the trees.

* * *

"This was a great idea, Heather." The man said as he carried there bags into the cabin. James Hudson was in desperate need of relaxation. When his wife suggested that they take a short break up to their cabin he was all for it. His job regularly tested his patience so any break he could get he would take.

That and he loved being around his beautiful wife.

"Come on now James. All my ideas are great ideas." Heather teased as she opened the door and looked around. Their hunting cabin wasn't anything fancy. A basic cabin with a front room that came with a kitchen. A master bedroom plus a spare in case others decided to come with them. It was their hidden spot.

"Oh my God!"

It was now trashed. Empty cans of food littered the floor. Furniture was upturned and broken. Claw marks littered the walls and floor. Something angry had been here.

"What did this?" Heather said as she took everything in and James thought about the possible candidate. This looked to be the classic case of a bear looking for some food, but to James, something felt off.

"Stay here Heather," James commanded as he took off towards his truck. He kept a spare rifle in it and he wanted to be safe in case whatever did this was still lurking about. He reached the truck in record time, quickly opened the door and reached behind the seat and grabbed his old hunting weapon. As he leaned back, something grabbed him by his shoulder and spun him around and struck him hard with a right hook. He stumbled back and got a good look at his attacker.

It was a teenager with wild blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that reminded him of a predator, like a wolf. He was wearing some of his spare clothing and his face was set in an angry snarl.

The blow dazed him for a second before his combat instincts kicked in. He lashed out with the blunt end of the rifle striking the kid across the side of his head. The kid took a step back and James went to aim his rifle at him. Before he knew it though there was a loud 'SNIKT!" and a set of claws erupted from the blonde's hand. With a quick swipe, he had cut the rifle in half, leaving the now useless handle in his hand.

James was so startled that he fell back on his ass as another set of claws came out of the blonde's other hand. The boy raised his clawed hand in the air and prepared to bring it down and all James could do was watch in panic.

"STOP!" To his surprise, the boy did just that. His beautiful wife was risking her neck in order to save his sorry ass. Heather ran out of the cabin and crouched next to her fallen husband. Fear was in their eyes, but it was also in the boy's eyes. He looked down at his claws in shock. Panic appeared in his eyes and he began to shake. His claws retracted back into his hand and he turned and started running straight into the woods. Not looking behind him as he ran.

The duo of husband and wife could only watch as the youth ran away. Both of them in deep shock.

"Did that really just happen?" James asked as he slowly stood up. Of course, it really happened though. His rifle was cut in half for god sakes. This was insane. In all his years working with the Canadian military, he'd never seen anything like that before.

"He looked terrified," Heather mumbled with her eyes still locked on the direction the kid went.

"Terrified! Heather, that kid tried to kill us!" James exclaimed as he threw down what was left of his gun.

"I know, I know, but James did you see him. It was like a switch went off in his head. He went from an animal into a scared kid. That boy has been through something terrible James!"

"That boy has metal knives in his hands!" James shot back. He couldn't understand how his wife wanted to stick her neck out for some nutcase that broke into their cabin and tried to kill him. But his wife just looked at him sadly and he knew she had already made up her mind.

"I'll be back."

* * *

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." Naruto said to himself as moved through the forest quickly. "Got careless and almost gutted some poor schmuck." He stopped to lean against a tree. He breathed heavily as he thought about what he did. What he almost did. He was more than ready to rip that man apart. To have his claws pierce through that man's body and leaving him there to bleed out.

 **'That's what you should have done.'** That damn voice was back and whispering things in his head.

"Shut up." Naruto wasn't having it today. Wasn't going to let some voice dictate his life.

 **"In fact, you should go back there and finish the job."**

"Would you just fuck off already!" Naruto shouted loudly. He needed to get out of here and fast before anyone could capture him again. Naruto let loose a deadly snarl at the thought of being caged again. He would never go back to that. He would maim and shred every soldier that came after him before he went back to being their attack dog.

 **"You're angry. Good, because you're going to need every bit of rage in your body to survive the trials to come."** As much as Naruto hated the voice, he couldn't help but agree with it. Anger had saved his life more times then he could count. Anger reminded him what he needed to do to remain alive.

"Aaaahhh." A scream broke through the forest. Naruto sniffed the air and realized it was the woman from before. But they were miles away from the cabin by now. Why would she follow him by herself?

"Damn woman has a death wish," Naruto mumbled to himself as he moved in the direction of the scream. Darting between the trees he stumbled across a terrifying scene. A massive grizzly bear had cornered the woman. Standing over 8 feet tall, it towered over the much smaller redhead. Naruto stared at the scene before him and his eyes locked onto the woman. Naruto knew what he had to do.

His much smaller body slammed into the bear, causing both of them to go rolling across the ground. Naruto quickly got to his feet. The bear slowly lumbered onto all fours. Just as it faced Naruto, he was hit with a metal enhanced punch across its snout. The bear let loose a roar in pain and swiped at Naruto, grazing the side of his face and sending him to the ground. The bear then bit into his arm and threw him up in the air.

Naruto hit the ground hard, but he wasn't out yet. In fact, he smiled at this new challenge. The brute of an animal was going to be a good test to see if he was ready to move on to new places. After all, if he could take down a full grown grizzly bear, everything else should be a piece of cake.

He quickly got to his feet as the bear charged at him. As the bear got within arms reach, he let loose his claws and dodged to the side, swiping at the bear's side while he moved. The bear let loose another pained roar as blood flowed from the three large cuts and stood on its back legs. Taking it as another opportunity Naruto charged at the bear and with an upward slash left six long cuts across the bear's chest. The attack caused the bear to fall back with Naruto standing on its chest, claws raised overhead ready to end the animal.

'No.' Naruto thought to himself. This wasn't right. This bear had never done anything to him and at the end of the day probably just stumbled across the woman and did what was only natural to it. It acted like a bear and Naruto couldn't blame it for that. He stepped off the bear and walked towards the woman. The bear was far too weak to do anything else, slowly got to its feet and disappeared back into the forest.

"You okay?" Naruto asked as he reached the woman and helped her to her feet. She could barely stand.

"No." She said immediately but somehow managed to keep her cool. "This has got to be the single strangest day of my life."

"Normals overrated." Naruto joked and she stared at him before she broke out laughing. For a second Naruto was worried the stress of the situation had caused her to lose her mind.

"As crazy as it sounds, I think your right because this has got be the most exciting day I've ever had." She said with a large smile as she stuck her hand out."I'm Heather."

"The names Naruto," Naruto said with his own small smile and shook her hand.

'Who knew making friends was so weird.' Naruto thought to himself.

* * *

Meeting Heather and James was life changing to Naruto. Never before had he trusted anyone, but by the end of the encounter, he fully trusted Heather and to a smaller extent James. Heather became an unofficial big sister figure to him as he started to learn more about her world.

For one Heather and James were both scientists. James, in fact, was in charge of a government agency called Department H. Heather said she couldn't go into the details about what they did, but they did offer to help him with his memory problems.

Naruto had to refuse though. Well grateful for the offer, Naruto also knew that the people behind his condition were very powerful and he didn't wish for them to get into danger just because of him. It was James who came up with an alternative plan. They would help him get out of the country as they all came to the conclusion that staying in Canada any longer just wasn't possible. They at first just needed to figure out were Naruto would go. Heather suggested that he close his eyes and place his finger anywhere on the map and that's where he would go. Doing just that Naruto figured out his destination.

"Are you sure you want to go there?" James asked worried about the young man. This whole idea had to be crazy right?

"Don't worry about me, Jimmy. I can take care of myself." Naruto answered as he looked over his passport and ticket. He was really doing this.

"I know you can take care of yourself kid. Its the world I'm worried about." James teased as he shook Naruto's hand. The two may have a rocky start but had come to appreciate the other's company. Both of them cared greatly about Heather and that's where their common ground started.

Heather looked to be close to tears as she hugged the younger blond. "Give us a call when you land alright Naruto."

"You know I will Heather," Naruto said with a smile. The redhead had become the closest thing to family to him and would miss her greatly.

"Take care of yourself Wolverine." It was the nickname she had given him after he had fought the bear. Heather had said he reminded her of the vicious animal and the name had stuck.

"You to Heather. And if anything comes up you know where to find me." With that goodbye, Naruto turned and started towards his terminal. "Gotham City here I come."

* * *

Guess who's back and enjoying the new year! And god almighty does it look to be a good one when it comes to comics. With the return of the actual Wolverine going on right now and awesome superhero flics like Glass coming out tomorrow. There's also Spiderman Far From Home and Shazam coming and of course, the superhero movie to end all superhero movies Avengers: End Game.

Onto more pressing news. This is going to be a harem story. If that's not your cup of tea well to fucking bad. With that said I want to ask you guys who you think should be in the harem. There's a general idea on who I want in it, but I still want to ask your opinions on the matter. So far I'm convinced to have Starfire and Artemis for sure.

Til next time guys.


	4. Chapter 3: The Fighter

(One Month Later)

Sweat filled Naruto's vision as he ducked under a massive fist that was aimed right at him. A cocky, yet feral grin lit up his face as he returned it with an uppercut to his foe to the crowd's approval. His opponent was a large man that towered over Naruto and arrogantly laughed at before the fight. The man was now sprawled out on his back, blood pouring from his broken nose and badly cut cheek.

"Damn." The ref muttered as he checked to see if the guy was alive." Told yah not to kill him Naruto."

"Yeah, and he shouldn't have tried to kick me in my balls, Mac," Naruto said over his shoulder as he left the ring. He could still hear the man's heartbeat so he hadn't actually killed him so he hadn't broken any rules. The crowd was now chanting his name, over and over and Naruto smirked as he raised arms and let loose a yell to the approval of the crowd. He had come to Gotham a little more than a month ago with nothing more than the 50 bucks and the fake passport that James and Heather had given him.

And now he was here. Fighting it out with Gotham's supposed fiercest and trying to make a living.

 _'It's not the prettiest work,"_ Naruto thought to himself as he moved towards the locker room. His opponent was being lifted out by two medics on a stretcher. _'But I'll be damned if it isn't fun.'_ He could have sworn he heard a chuckle after that thought but he shook it off. The voice had been silent for over a month.

And he was going to keep it that way.

Pushing the locker room door open Naruto began to strip out of his fight shorts and underwear. He sniffed the air and grimaced. He needed a shower badly. Opening the locker that was unofficially designated his by the other fighters, he pulled out a water bottle and took a long gulp of it. Throwing the bottle back in he sighed to himself.

"Need something stronger." He mumbled to himself and grabbed a towel. The night was still relatively young. His three short fights weren't that tough. He was starting to grow bored with this job. Maybe a good glass of whiskey could change his mind. Naruto stepped into his shower and turned the nozzles. A good mix of hot and cold water shot out and Naruto quickly cleaned himself. Soon enough he was done and he began to dry off.

He grabbed his beat up, old phone out of his locker to see if he had any texts. Seeing that there was one, Naruto read it.

 _You done yet?_ It read.

He quickly replied with _Just got done. You hungry?_ and then put on his jeans. Next was his gray shirt and then his dark brown leather jacket. As he was lacing up his boots, he got his reply.

 _Fuckin starving_

Naruto just chuckled and grabbed the last three items that were his. His battered wallet, a lighter, and a chain that had two dog tags that were specially made by James and Heather.

 _"You were treated like a soldier. The best soldiers have these to remember everything. As far as I'm concerned you more than earned these kid."_ James had said that to him and admittedly it was probably the only nice thing he had ever said to Naruto. And even though he didn't remember his past, he still wore these with pride. One of the tags had his name on, the other had Wolverine on it.

His night was almost over. It was close to three a.m. now and he longed for something greasy and unhealthy. With his destination in mind, he stepped out of the locker room, unintentionally bumping into someone.

"Whoa sorry about that Matches." Naruto apologized to the man. The man was tall, at least a half a foot taller than Naruto and was dressed in a fine plaid suit. His dark hair and mustache were groomed perfectly and a pair of sunglasses rested on his face covering his eyes. This was Matches Malone, a small-time criminal and con artist that Naruto had meant in the underground. Practically everyone knew Matches and while he wasn't the same level as the guys who ran the Underground and was still pretty infamous in Gotham.

"Don't sweat it, kid." Matches said smoothly in heavy Jersey accent. "That was some fighting out there. Made Carter look like some chump who had never entered the ring before."

"There's nothing to hit Matches. Big guys like him always look down on guys like me, but I promise you I hit twice as hard as the numbskulls." Naruto said with a grin. It was the truth though. With his metal skeleton, Naruto did hit harder than any of these guys. Not that he was going to mention it to anyone. He liked getting paid for beating up people. As long as he omitted some key details he was fine.

Matches certainly like it. The man let loose a loud laugh and smacked Naruto on the shoulder. "Your something else you know that kid."

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "You wouldn't be the first person to tell me that." He then pulled out a cigar out from his coat pocket and lit it with his lighter. "I'll catch you later Matches."

Matches smirked and waved at the retreating blonde. "Take it, easy kid." With that, both men went there separate ways all the while thinking about similar thoughts.

 _'What a strange_ _guy/kid.'_

* * *

"Yo kid you awake," Naruto asked loudly as he walked into his apartment with two bags of Big Belly Burger. His apartment was nothing special. If anything it was extra small. It basically had three rooms. His living room/kitchen, his bedroom and his bathroom. Sitting in his only recliner was a kid.

"About time you showed up." The boy said as he stood up. The boy had messy black hair, sharp blue eyes and he was wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts. "I thought you ditched me to go hang out at a bar."

"And miss good old Big Belly Burger. Not today Jason." Naruto said with a laugh. He handed one of the bags to Jason." Double bacon cheeseburger, extra onion, no mayo."

"Alright!" Jason said excitedly as he grabbed one of the bags out of Naruto's hand and tore into it. Naruto scratched his head and chuckled at the 11-year-old.

"Slow down Jase. Your gonna choke. At least enjoy the damn thing." Naruto said as he walked over to his fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer. He flicked the cap off with his finger and took a deep drink before he ripped into his own bag. Double barbecue and bacon. His kind of treat.

"Soooo." Jason asked with a handful of fries in his mouth."How many fights did you have tonight?" Jason always asked about his fights. The young boy loved to hear the blow by blow that Naruto would give. He had even asked Naruto to train him and when the blonde wasn't so busy he would give the kid some pointers.

"I had three tonight. Made 500 for each." Naruto bragged slightly. The Underground Fights were bloody affairs, but they put food on the table and to be perfectly honest he enjoyed working there. He liked to fight and prove that he was stronger than others.

"I need details Naruto!" Jason whined, eager to hear new tales about the Underground. Naruto shook his head good-naturedly.

"Alright, so my first match was with this biker guy. Pretty slow to be honest..." Naruto began telling about his fights. How each fight was supposed to be tougher than the last. And how each opponent eventually was knocked out from his metal enhanced fist. This went on until Jason finally fell asleep in the recliner. Naruto picked the kid up and carried the kid over to his apartment that was right across from his. He knocked on the door and waited. Eventually, it opened to reveal a very frail dark-haired woman who looked at Naruto reluctantly.

"Morning Catherine," Naruto said with narrowed eyes. The only reason why Jason would be over at his house at four in the morning would be because his either his mother or father were doing something stupid. Seeing as Willis was nowhere to be found it had to be Catherine.

"Naruto," Catherine said surprised and finally noticed Jason being carried in. She opened the door to let Naruto through. There were no pictures in the Todd apartment. No toys laying around to give any indication that a young boy was living here and Naruto hated it, because if there was anyone that deserved a good way of living it was this kid.

Naruto moved through the apartment with Catherine following him like a scolded puppy. "I didn't realize that he was over at your place..." He entered Jason's room and laid him down on his bed. A quick glance around the room showed some of the only items that actually belonged to the kid. Posters of rock bands like Metallica and AC/DC coved most of the walls. An old school tv and Playstion 2 were stuck in a corner of the room, both bought by Naruto little more than a week ago with some of his leftover cash from one of his fights. Next to Jason's bed was a stack of school books that Naruto made sure Jason looked over every night. Though lately, he was letting the kid slack off due to it being the summer.

"Didn't know or were too high to care?" Naruto questioned her. Her sudden silence was her answer. Naruto growled under his breath. He wanted to be mad at her. Wanted to blame her for everything that was shitty in Jason's life. But she was only part of the problem. Willis Todd was twice as bad and every bit deserving of the beating he had coming.

"I couldn't help myself Naruto." Catherine said quietly, "I had such a long day at work-"

"Save your excuses," Naruto interrupted with narrowed eyes," Because I don't want to hear them. When was the last time Jason ate? Not just some junk food that comes out of a box, but a real god damn meal." The kid couldn't live off Big Belly Burger, no matter how much he wanted to.

"I-I," Catherine looked close to crying now and that had never been his intention when he came over. Naruto moved her out of the room so she wouldn't wake the sleeping Jason.

"I'm sorry Catherine." Naruto was never one for apologies, but he also knew when he was acting too much like himself. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I just worry about Jason is all..." He closed the door.

"Thank you for that... I know I'm not a good mother, but Jason might be the one good thing I've done in this life. It's nice to know someone like you is watching out for him."

Naruto scratched his head with a tired sigh. He pulled out a roll of bills out of his pocket. Unrolling a couple of the bills, he held his hand out. "Here. It's about 250. Use it to pay rent and feed the kid and I better not find out that you used this to put more of that shit in your arm." Naruto warned.

Catherine nodded gratefully. "I will Naruto and thank you."

"I better not regret this Catherine," Naruto said as he turned and walked out of the apartment and back into his own. It had been a long night and his bed was calling to him.

* * *

Naruto loved to run. It was the first thing he did every afternoon after he woke up. He would throw on a pair of shorts, a long sleeved white shirt, and a pair of old running shoes. He would then start from his apartment building and then he would take off across Gotham like a wolf on the hunt. No destination in mind, just a long road of training. He often felt as wild and free as his namesake when he ran. Naruto often got a similar feeling when he was fighting in the ring. Mile after mile he ran and every day he ran by the same gym.

Ted Grant's gym to be precise.

Ted Grant was a very old man who still looked like he could knock a much younger man on his ass. Naruto would be lying if he said he wasn't intimidated by the man.

 _'It's pretty weird.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he approached the gym at a sprint. _'I've got no problem fighting a grizzly bear, but a senior citizen scares the shit out of me.'_ He stopped right in front of the gym, breathing slightly. While he never had a destination when he ran, he often found himself outside this gym. He could hear the training going on inside, but could never work up the nerve to go inside. The people in there were real. They existed to the people outside those walls. They had live's to get to. _'I'm just a fucked up lab experiment.'_ Naruto thought to himself with a chuckle as he looked over the building. It wasn't a massive building and much like the surrounding buildings, it looked old but still powerful. Still able to get the job done.

"Something funny kid?" Someone said from behind Naruto. He turned to see the very old man that unnerved him closing his car door. Naruto had only ever caught spare glances of the older man as he passed the gym, but now that he got a good look at him he knew why the older man intimidated him so much. Even in his advanced age the man was still walked around like a man half his age. It was his eyes that truly made Naruto nervous. They were much like his own in fact. Fierce and angry and always looking around for a fight.

"Nothing old man," Naruto said with a playful smirk.

Ted laughed loudly. "Can't say too many people talk to me like that these days."

"What can I say. I'm brutally honest."

"That so eh? Why don't you take that brutal honesty inside and show me what you can do." Ted said as he pointed to the doors of the gym.

"Not my kind of scene," Naruto said quickly.

"Really? Because I could have sworn that it was you who keeps running past this place every afternoon." The old man shot back with a smirk. "Look, kid, it's not a problem if you want to go in and check the place out. I built this place so people could find a way to deal with their anger in a healthier way than say robbing a local store."

"Look old man I'm fine. I just need to finish my run." Ted looked at the blonde as he did the last of his stretches. There was a look in his eye that told Naruto one thing and it wasn't anything good.

"Look, kid, I'm offering a place for you to train? Most people would kill for that. Now quit being a stubborn little idiot and come in here and show me what you got." Ted said as he opened the door to the gym.

Naruto stared at the older man and for once he let himself feel normal. "Alright fine old man. I'll come in, but just for a little while."

"Good! I'm Ted Grant. What about you kid?"

"My names Naruto. Not kid."

Ted just smile cheekily and opened the door and for the first time, Naruto got a good look at the place. In the center of the room was a large boxing ring and surrounding it were different stations that had people working out. There was bench press, pull up bars, punching bags, and many other things you would see in a gym. A bell would ring when it was time to change stations It was all fast passed and no one was standing around doing nothing.

"What are you waiting for kid? Get to it!" Ted said as he pushed Naruto forward.

He would never forget what came next.

For the next hour, Ted put Naruto through the grinder. Each station was a test that he needed to pass and pass he did. Sweat poured down his body as he did each exercise and for the first time ever, Naruto was feeling tired. A thorough workout consisting of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, rope climbing, and weight training. Ted was a great instructor who knew what each fighter needed to do to improve themselves. He could understand a fighter by just looking at them. He could tell their style and their weakness by that one look.

Determination filled Naruto as he pushed through every station. He was loving this. Training was one of the few things he could do and he truly believed that whoever he was before his memory loss loved to do it.

"Nice job kid! Now, do you have enough energy in yah for a spar?" Ted asked as he threw a towel to the soaked in sweat teen.

"Of course old man," Naruto smirked cockily. "It'll be even better if I get to spar with you and knock you on your ass."

Ted let loose a hearty laugh. "Hell no kid." He said still laughing, "I'm 75 years too late to be sparring with a kid like you."

"Wait a sec," Naruto said while wiping off his face, "How old are you?"

"I'm 91 years old kid," Ted answered with a smirk. Naruto just looked at him in shock. Ted didn't look a day over 60 and was still built like a heavyweight boxer. To hear that he was actually much older than caused Naruto to wonder more about the aging boxing instructor. "Now quit standing around and get in the ring." Ted began to look around until his eyes locked on a small group of teens about Naruto's age. "Issac come over here!" He called out and one of the teens stepped forward. Issac was a tall African-American teen that had about half a foot on Naruto and arrogance seemed to come off him in waves.

"What's up Ted?" Issac asked

"I need you to spar with my young friend-"

"Are you serious?! You want me to get into the ring with this chump?" Issac interrupted outraged.

"Hey watch your mouth bub." Naruto had dealt with far more dangerous people than this asshole. Memories flashed through his mind of a red-eyed teenager and another memory of a man with clawed fingers. This kid was nothing. Not even worth the time to let his claws out.

"Alright, you two hotheads. Pick your fight in there. Not out here." Ted got in between the two before a fight could break out and pointed towards the boxing ring.

"Fine Ted. Just remember I tried to stop this when you're cleaning this kid off the floor." Issac threatened as he stepped into the ring. Naruto's eyes never left the other teen. He hated arrogance. It just rubbed him the wrong way for reasons he didn't really know nor care. He was gonna enjoy this 'spar'.

Naruto ducked under the ropes and took his spot across from Issac. He popped his fingers with an audible crack, slipped his gloves on, then raised his hands. He smirked at his opponent, further infuriating him.

Naruto was really going to enjoy this. Fighting was something he loved the most. Being able to express his anger and rage at something was one of the few things that could clear his head. The bell wrung and Issac charger across the ring. He threw a haymaker at Naruto, who dodged the blow and returned with his own jab right into Issac's ribs. Issac stumbled before catching himself and launching himself back at the smirking blonde.

Naruto weaved between the punches, never truly feeling in danger. The other teen just really didn't register as a danger to him. Were Naruto was relaxed, Issac had grown more and more frustrated. Every punch he threw at Naruto was easily dodged or deflected and it was aggravating the inner city boxer.

Naruto jabbed Issac in the ribs again and then followed it up with a hard hook to Issac's face. It was a game to the blonde. He wouldn't put his full force into the punches. He was really trying to see how riled up he could make Issac. The other teen was starting to look volcano that was about to erupt. Issac began to swing wildly in a desperate attempt to land a hit on the shorter teen.

Naruto grinned deviously and hit Issac with a powerful strike that sent the taller teen flying back. Issac came crashing back down and was unconscious before he even hit the floor. Everyone in the gym stopped what they were doing to see this random kid knock out the supposed strongest boxer in the city. It was dead silent all through the gym until Ted started to clap.

"Damn kid, that was some swing you got there." he complimented as Naruto stepped out of the ring. He slapped him on the back and Naruto was surprised by the force. How strong was this guy? "Your something else ain't you Naruto."

"People keep reminding me, Ted." Naruto said with a cheeky grin.

* * *

The rest of his week was spent resting and training. Often he would remind himself that he needed to make a living and the best way to do that was by fighting other desperate bastards in the Ring. Most of the time he was confident he could take anything that was thrown at him in these fights, but he also remembered he was in Gotham and this city often attracted the strange and unusual. So he needed to be prepared. And if Ted could help him with that than all the better. New fighting styles were introduced to Naruto and he felt confident he could take anything that was thrown at him.

"Jason! I'm heading out!"

"Bring back a pizza!" Jason said as Naruto closed the door. He shook his head in amusement at a time he was supposed to be serious. But Jason was the little brother he had never asked for and often was able to bring out a Naruto that wasn't so damaged.

A black limo was waiting for him as he walked out of his apartment building. The door already open, Naruto climbed in and sat down. Sitting across from man that he only knew as the Manager. Names had power in Gotham and you didn't willingly give up your real name unless you had serious power behind it. Hence the reason why anyone who ran the Underground Fights went by the moniker of the Manager. He thought it was a stupid alias so he just called him Manny.

"If it isn't my favorite vicious teenager." He said with a smirk.

"Hey, Manny. What do you got for me?" Naruto asked he fist bumped to the two guards. It always helped to be on good terms with everyone.

"I got a deal for you that you are going to love kid. I got you three fights, same as last night, though these fighters are way deadlier. One of them is juiced up on a watered down version of Venom!"

"Sounds like fun. Bigger fights mean a bigger pay off right?"

"Damn right. If you win these fights we're gonna send you to the big leagues. The boss lady has taken an interest in you."

Naruto gulped audibly. The 'boss lady' referred to the mysterious organizer behind the fights and one of the few people who had true power in Gotham. No one knew who she was, only that she was female, if you pissed her off she'd get rid of you with no problems, and that she also went by alias.

Roulette.

"She wants me for Meta-Brawl?!" Meta-Brawl was the Majors compared to the triple-A he was doing now. Big money against true deadly opponents. Supervillains who went toe to toe with the Justice League. And he wanted in.

"You just have to win your fights tonight. One last test to see if you can go head to head with guys like Atomic Skull. The one with the flaming head, not that one with mental powers." Manny seemed to be just as excited as Naruto. If he could bring a powerful fighter to Roulette than he was sure to get a promotion.

"Tell Roulette she can throw whatever she wants at me and send it back ripped to shreds," Naruto said with a confident, yet vicious grin. Tonight was going to be good.

"Glad to hear it. Because we're here."

The doors of the limo opened on each side and Naruto climbed out. Fingers popping as he walked.

"Can you believe that it's only been a couple of weeks since you started fighting here? Now you're moving on up!" Manny said as the guards flanked them on either side.

* * *

The Underground also served as a popular night club and den of sin to the residents of Gotham. You could find whatever you were looking for here. Drugs you got it. A late night escort to really make your dreams come true, you could find it in the Underground. None of these things interested Naruto. Drugs were expensive and doubted he could feel anything due to his healing factor and even if didn't have it he would never try them. Jason's mom always sprang to mind and he promised himself that he would never be dependant on a substance. Hookers were also out because he didn't know where they'd been and didn't want to find out. No the only thing that had caught his attention here was the Underground fights.

Naruto needed a challenge. Something that would push him to his limit. He thought he might find it in the ring, but all he had found so far were a bunch of wannabe fighters, that would have been dangerous to normal people were like bugs to him. Pushing through the crowd of people he thought of something that bothered him greatly. What if he didn't find what he was looking for in Meta-Brawl. Could he really spend the rest of his life beating the shit out people or would he finally find answers to so many of questions? So deep in thought, he didn't notice that he was walking into someone.

"Hey watch it!" Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts as he had to look at the girls standing across from him. She was a bit shorter than him and a had slender body that was quite eye-catching. She wore a brown unbuttoned shirt over a black tank top that just barely gave a glimpse to what lay beneath and a tight pair of jeans that fit her snuggly and black combat boots. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. "What are you deaf?" Naruto hadn't realized he was staring.

"Sorry about that. I was just in a hurry." Naruto apologized as the girl gave him a once over.

"You a fighter?"

"Something like that." He answered with a smirk. What he did really couldn't be called fighting as his opponents where barely able to keep up with him.

"You fighting tonight?" The girl asked as he glanced over at Manny who was pointing at his watch. He was on a time limit now. "You gonna win?"

"I always do." He answered dryly as moved around her. Danced really. His eyes never left hers. "You going to be watching?"

"Why would I be watching you. Are you interesting?" She asked coyly a small smirk of her own and Naruto was started to like this game that was going on between them. Him and this girl whose name he didn't even know.

"Maybe. Maybe you need to stick around and watch." Naruto uttered sharply. "Maybe you'll see something interesting."

She hummed in response "Good luck than tough guy." She said as she walked away with a bit of skip in her step. The still smirking blonde watching her as she walked.

"Damn." He growled lightly. Had to be the first girl to catch attention ever.

"Naruto! What are you doing kid! You've got twenty minutes until your up!" Manny grabbed his arm getting his attention.

"Sorry, Manny. My mind was somewhere else."

"Yeah right. It was glued to that girl's ass in those jeans. Now hurry up!" Manny urged, pushing Naruto towards the locker room. Naruto chuckled sheepishly and quickly made his way to the locker room. He usually wasn't this distracted, but that girl had wormed her way into his mind and he couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was her feisty attitude that had caught his attention or the way she moved like she was the best-looking thing in the building which she was. Naruto cleared his thoughts as he pushed the door open to his locker room.

He slipped his jacket off and placed it on a hook and was moving to take his boots off when a sharp pain took over his head. Like someone was trying to drill into his skull.

 **"Naruto."** The voice came so suddenly that it actually spooked Naruto into letting his claws out and spinning around. He growled as he glanced around. His head was pounding. **"Naruto."**

"Shut up!" He roared as his claws sliced through a nearby bench, cutting through the wood. He brought his hands up to his head as the pain worsened and his eyes clenched shut. "Leave me alone!" His eyes snapped open and he glanced in a nearby mirror and froze.

His eyes were red. Blood red.

He fell in shock and withdrew his claws. "What the hell is happening to me..."

 **"Remember..."** The voice faded away into silence and Naruto shuddered. What was he supposed to remember? Didn't the voice know how hard he was trying to remember? How often he lied awake in wonder thinking about he used to be.

"Fuck you," Naruto growled as he stood up and took a deep breath. The pain had subsided now but was a fierce reminder as to what the voice could do. The thing he hated most though was that he felt like he knew the voice and each time it tried to talk to him he got closer and closer to it.

He'd figure this shit out later. Right now he had more important things to worry about.

The door slammed open. It was one of the guards that had walked in with Naruto and Manny. Reggie was his name. "Kid you need to get out of here!" Screams where coming from the main room and they weren't from people having fun.

"What's going on out there?"

"GCPD is here and they're taking down everyone! I gotta go. Manny sent me here to warn you and only has Kyle to watch his back." Naruto nodded and slipped his leather jacket back on.

"Thanks, Reggie. Be safe out there." Reggie nodded before darting back out into the chaos. Naruto popped his knuckles one last time and followed him out.

Dozens of GCPD officers were running about and going after the most powerful people in the crowd. Naruto pushed past people, trying to find an exit. A cop grabbed his arm and Naruto's fist shot out and drilled him in the cheek. Two more cops tried to apprehend him and instead, Naruto kneed the first cop bringing him to the ground, the air knocked out of him from the metal enhanced bone, and upper cutted the second as tried to interrupt him. His fist caught the underside of the cops chin and sent the guy flying through the air and onto another nearby cop. With the one problem seemingly taken care of Naruto glanced around the huge room looking for any viable way of escaping. He stopped in his tracks.

The girl from before was fighting off more than six officers and was winning. Her form flipped around the officers as she gracefully kicked and punched her way through the GCPD cops. Deadly was the word that came to Naruto's mind. She struck with precision and each officer that tried to stop her felt her wraith. But even with a fierce struggle, Naruto knew that eventually, the cops would overpower and he didn't want to see that happen. So he figured what the hell.

He shot into the group of cops and tackled one. Quickly standing he blocked a baton that was coming his way and head-butted the cop. Next, his foot lashed out and struck another cop in his stomach. His ally picked up a nearby knife off a table and launched it at another cop. The knife flew through the air and was embedded in a cop's hand who tried to pull his gun out of his holster. Naruto realized that they needed to get out of there. Coops were filling in quicker then they could take out. Grabbing a nearby table, he flipped it through the air into an approaching group of officers. The GCPD cops were either hit by the full force of the thrown table or ducked out of the way.

Taking his chance, Naruto grabbed the girl by the arm and darted to the back hallway. He knew of side exit for the staff of the place and would be the easiest way to get out of there.

"Where are we going?!" The girl exclaimed as they ran out of the room.

"Getting the hell out of here!" Naruto called back as they ran. They could see the exit now. He pushed the door open to see a dirty grimy alleyway. Slamming the door back. Naruto glanced around. One end was blocked by a chain link fence.

"That way." His companion said as she pointed to the other end. They were stopped by approaching two cop cars that came screeching to a halt, blocking them in.

"Let's take the other way," Naruto said as they turned back. He was tired of this shit. SNIKT! His claws emerged from his right hand, causing his friend to gasp as the sharp metal cut through the fence like it was nothing.

"What the fu-" The girl started, but Naruto pushed her on.

"Do you really want to ask questions or do you want to get out of here." Naruto challenged as shoved the ruin fence away.

"Good point. Run now questions later."

"That's what I thought."

* * *

Getting away from the cops was ridiculously easy. To be fair there were way bigger fish back in the Underground to catch. Right now they were hiding in alley six blocks away, waiting to see if the coast was clear.

"That was insane," Naruto said to his companion as she stared at him dryly.

"That's putting it mildly." His fellow blonde uttered as they rested against the walls of the alley. Naruto shook his head and laughed and she looked at him strangely. "What's so funny?"

"Think about it. All the shit that's gone down tonight. And I don't even know your name." Once Naruto put it like that the girl couldn't help but laugh with him.

"I'm Artemis." She introduced

"Artemis." Naruto tried it out as they shook hands. "Well, Artemis I'm Naruto and it's a real pleasure to meet you." Seeing that no more cop cars had driven past, Naruto looked at Artemis and gave her a foxy grin. "You hungry?"

Artemis smiled back at Naruto. "What did you have in mind?"

Naruto's grin got even bigger as the new friends walked down the street. The night still going on for them.

* * *

 **OMAKE: Versus**

" **GET OVER HERE!"**

"Shit! I hate when you spam that move." Jason shouted in anger as Scorpion impaled Johny Cage with his rope spear and then punched him up.

" **FINISH HIM!"**

"Come on Jason. Just admit it. Scorpion is the best." Naruto bragged as he went through the right combination of buttons to unleash the fatality on Jason's character.

"No way!" Jason pouted as he dropped his controller. The boy seemed to be mulling what Naruto said. "I bet Batman could beat Scorpion."

 **"Fatality!"**

"What! Scorpion would beat the shit out, Batman." Naruto argued

"Dude he's Batman. There's no way Scorpion would beat him."

"Are you serious because that has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Scorpion controls the fires of hell. What does Batman have? A Batarang. Real effective. "

"Batman has more than a Batarang. If he really wanted to beat Scorpion he would take the batmobile and run him over!" Jason shot back.

"But Batman would never do that because he's a big hero with morals and crap. Scorpion does not." Naruto teased.

"You want to know how Batman would beat Scorpion? With a fire extinguisher!"

Naruto sighed. "Look how about we go get Big Belly Burger and forget the whole thing?" Jason's eyes lit up.

"Hell yeah!" Both Naruto and Jason got up and moved towards the door. "Batman would still win."

"No, he wouldn't!"

* * *

Hey guys guess who's back. It took me a while to get this out and for that I apologize. Some bad shit happened to me and my family and my dad died. For a while I didn't what I was gonna do, then I remember me and my dad's love for everything comic book related. And here I am. Writing again. Because he wouldn't want me to be a little bitch who stopped doing what I love to do.

A lot of characters introduced in this chapter and I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Quick reminder I own none of this. Not Naruto. Not DC. And definitely not Marvel.

Later guys.


	5. Chapter 4: Shadows

Cities like Gotham didn't sleep. There was always something going on especially at night. Wondering the streets, Naruto and Artemis casually walked past numerous different people as they finished their late night snacks.

"So how does a girl like you end up in the Underground?" Naruto couldn't help but ask as he finished his milkshake. Big Belly Burger was god sent.

"Maybe I was bored," Artemis answered with a small smirk.

"A girl like you bored in Gotham. Now that's a crime." Naruto teased as he took one last spoonful of his chocolate shake.

"What about you. Why were you fighting?" Artemis asked with a curious smirk

Naruto shrugged and said, "Have to make money somehow."

"And the claws?"

"Came with my memory loss," Naruto answered as he threw away his milkshake in a nearby trash can. He often wondered about his claws and the strange metal that covered them. They could cut through anything or at least anything that had gotten in his way so far. "Enough about me though and let's talk about you. Your no normal Gotham girl after all."

"Is anyone in Gotham really normal?" She jokingly asked

"Good point," Naruto replied with a chuckle. "But you know how to fight. Those moves back there were from some serious training."

"Let's just say my dad was a real slave driver and leave it at that." Artemis seemed to close up after answering him and Naruto understood the need for privacy. It wasn't like he was the poster boy for telling backstories.

"You know you're pretty badass," Naruto told her in an attempt to cheer her up. From the smile, she sent him it worked.

"You're not to bad yourself, tough guy," Artemis noted as they continued down the busy street. "So what are you a meta?"

"I honestly don't know," Naruto admitted. " I remember waking up in the snow one morning. I was tired and in pain and I had theses sticking out of my hands."

"So you don't remember anything?" Artemis questioned

"Nope, nothing." Naruto calmly commented

"I hate to ask you this but have you tried searching for answers?" Artemis reluctantly asked.

"I'm not even sure where to begin. Hell, I only came to Gotham to get out of the fucking woods. See the world."

"I have to tell you. You chose the wrong city to see the world."

Naruto let a loud bark of a laugh out. "I don't know, the city's and its people have treated me pretty well." His mind drifted to Jason who had become a little brother to him. To Ted who had only known him for a day and took a risk on him. To Manny who had gotten him the fights and paid his bills. To the blond that was standing right next to him.

"You'd be the first," Artemis replied dryly which was fair for Gotham was the single most dangerous city in America. Star City and Bludhaven couldn't even compare. Death was as common as pigeons here. Though even with all the dangers here Naruto didn't regret coming to Gotham for a second.

"Cities like Gotham really show how tough you are. If I can survive all the shit that's here. Then the rest of the world should be easy." Naruto told her with a large grin that reminded Artemis of a fox.

"God, you're cheesy." Artemis teased with a laugh that Naruto copied. "I need to be going home."

"Lead the way," Naruto said

"That's really not necessary."

"Oh I know it's not necessary. Hell, you can take anything that comes your way. I just want to spend some more time with you." Naruto admitted sheepishly. Artemis blushed from Naruto's words.

"Fine." Artemis wasn't going to argue with the strange blonde hunk that had her back all night. And good company was hard to find in Gotham.

* * *

Naruto and Artemis walked through the city talking between themselves about everything. Anything that came to either of their minds they talked about ranging from favorite foods to favorite activities. They were having fun which for these two individuals was a rare thing.

"So he thinks Scorpion could beat Batman?"

"Yep."

"Is he crazy?"

"Thank you!" Naruto exclaimed as Artemis busted out laughing. "Jason was just mad that I beat him for the third time in a row."

"He sounds like a good kid," Artemis said as Naruto thought of his surrogate brother.

"He is. Jason is a really good kid. It's just to damn bad he was born here." Naruto replied with a small frown. He never felt too down on himself due to other people like Jason having it just as bad as he did. The kid didn't deserve the shit hand he was given and if Naruto could do anything to make the kids life just a bit easier then he would.

"Gotham's a rough place to grow up." Artemis agreed sadly. "But it also toughens you up." Naruto nodded as they came to a stop. "This is my stop."

"I had a lot of fun tonight. Beating up cops. Running from cops..." Naruto said with a chuckle that Artemis returned.

"It was a fun first date."

"Fun enough to have a second one?" Naruto asked as she opened the door to her apartment building. She stopped turned and held her hand out.

"Let me see your phone." Naruto did as she asked and watched as she typed in her number into his contacts. "Give me a call. Maybe we'll go and beat up some cops?"

"Probably shouldn't make a habit of that, but I'll see what I can do," Naruto said as he looked down at his phone. Artemis smiled at her fellow blonde and kissed him on his cheek.

"Have a good night, whiskers," Artemis said as she walked into her building.

"You to tigress." Naruto said as he watched her walked away, his eyes locked onto her backside. Every step was graceful and reminded him of the big cat that he had nicknamed her after. He had to snap himself out of it, but as he turned and walked down the street a goofy grin erupted on his face. After all the drama that had gone on tonight, he finally felt like everything was turning around for him. He admittedly was out of a job, but at least he had met someone who might even like him. Someone who knew how to execute a perfect roadhouse kick at that.

 _"And damn does she look good doing it!"_ Naruto thought to himself as he brushed past people in the street.

Walking back to his apartment, Naruto noticed that something was off. All night there had been a feeling in the back of his head that was telling him that something was off. Something that was wrong, but he chalked it up to being on edge from escaping the cops. But now hours later he still felt the same nagging feeling. Whatever it was, it was negative and for some reason, it was directed towards him.

Naruto ducked down an alleyway and looked around him. The feeling was getting stronger. His eyes took on a sharp look as he glanced around him. There were too many smells in the air. Made everything harder.

"What the hell is going on." He asked himself as he ran through the alley. His head was starting to pound again. He tried to shake it off. That's when he heard it. Something was flying through the air towards him.

SNIKT! His claws emerged from his hand and blocked several sharp metal star-like objects that were aimed at his face. The word shuriken flew through his mind but he didn't know how he could know what these were.

More shurikens shot out from different spots and Naruto moved to block the metal stars with his claws.

"How about you come out from wherever your hiding?" Naruto asked the darkness. Three people seemed to emerge right in front of him from different hiding spots in the alley. each of them dressed in similar clothes of black armored hooded shirts, pants, and boots. The negative feeling was stronger than ever. "That's better. I don't know what I did to piss off a bunch of ninjas, but you temes were being real cowardly. Now you get to fight me face to face." He raised his clawed in preparation for the fight to come. The three men from what he could tell pulled swords from their sheathe on their backs.

"Are we gonna stand around all night, or are we going to fight?" Naruto asked rhetorically as the ninjas charged at him.

Naruto swiped his right claw at the first ninja who blocked it with his sword. Naruto interlocked his claw with the sword and brought the man closer to him so he could smash his forehead into his nose. The man dropped his sword and stumbled back, as Naruto blocked two strikes from the other two ninjas with his other clawed hand. He swung with his hand and grazed them along their chest forcing them to drop back. Their armor protected them from any serious damage but still managed to make small cuts.

"Heh first blood is mine assholes." Naruto mocked as the ninjas found their bearings. "Ready for another round." He would have continued to mock them but there was a sharp pain that was coming from his side. The ninja that he had headbutted had snuck up on him and jammed his blade in his side. He growled in pain and anger as he grabbed the ninja by his arm, an jammed his clawed right hand into the ninja's chest, ending his life.

Naruto pulled the blade out of his side with a small grunt. "This is my favorite jacket." He growled and faced the other two. "Now I'm pissed off." Naruto charged at them claws raised and the ninjas met him head-on.

Naruto battled the two ninjas using his claws to block and swipe at them. He couldn't find an opening. Every time he went to stab them they managed to evade his claws and they couldn't get close enough Naruto. He needed to separate them from each other.

He interlocked his claws once more with both in a battle of strength. Not willing to give in he began to push back against both of the swords and threw the ninjas back. Pouncing on one of the fallen ninjas he sank his claws into the ninja's torso and easily cutting through the armor. His eyes locked onto the final ninja.

"And then there was one..." Naruto announced as he stood and began to slowly stalk over to his last foe. The last ninja stood there, small cuts littering his form. Naruto would have found it brave. Standing in front of certain death. Except, this guy also tried to kill him so fuck that. He was going to gut him. The two began a clash of blades. Sword vs claws. Sparks from the clashing metal. Naruto parried one more swing from the ninja before slamming his claws into his throat. Blood flew as Naruto beheaded the other man soaking his arm in the red liquid.

Naruto panted as he took in the carnage around him. Blood and bits of people littered the alley. He needed to get out of here now before someone called the cops. He ran. Ran through the streets of Gotham City in ripped up clothes and covered in blood.

His nice night was starting to look like a nightmare again.

* * *

As soon as he stepped into his apartment he charged toward his shower, slipping off his ruined clothes while he ran. Naruto's thought were still transfixed on the three strange men that had attacked him. To his knowledge, he had never done anything to piss off any ninjas, but he also didn't know much about his past so he also had that going for him. He knew one thing for sure.

He was going to need information and there was only one person who could help him. He stepped out of his shower and used a towel to dry himself off before putting on a pair of boxers and jeans.

"What the hell..." Naruto turned to see the shocked Jason holding his bloody shirt.

"Jason what are you doing here!" Naruto exclaimed as he snatched the shirt away.

"Did you get stabbed in your fight tonight?"

"No!" The only person that did the stabbing tonight was him.

"Then how did that happen!?" Jason asked confused as he pointed to the blood-soaked clothing. Naruto threw the shirt into a trash can.

"Listen to me, Jay. Do me a favor. Throw this along with jacket and pants into the burn barrel outside. Make sure no one sees you. I need to go take care of some business. I'll explain everything when I get back." Naruto promised

"Okay. But I'll hold you to it." Jason said as he picked up the trash can and ran out of the room. Naruto watched him leave with a determined look on his face. He always kept his promises. He picked up his phone and found the contact he was looking for.

"Hello?" The familiar voice of the Manager asked in slight fright perhaps afraid of who might be on the other end. Manny had every right to be afraid. In the entire history of the Underground, the police had never found it. Not a clue. And in one night it had been ruined. Roulette would want the blood of the person responsible for it.

"Manny we need to meet. Tonight." Naruto said as he put on an orange t-shirt. Manny sighed in relief at the sound of the teen's voice. He would be happy to hear Naruto's voice.

"Kid? What the fuck are you calling me for?" Manny asked annoyed.

"I don't want to talk about it on the phone Manny. Can I meet you somewhere?" Naruto asked as he opened his fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer.

Manny sighed. "Fine kid. Meet me at the garage."

* * *

Naruto darted through the back alleys until he arrived at his location. Manny owned several small businesses throughout Gotham. One of them being the Gotham City Garage. A place where mobsters and criminals went when they needed to have the licenses plate and paint job changed. It was all a front. One of Manny's legitimate businesses. If anyone knew anything about what happened to him tonight it would be Manny and if anyone could get him a ticket out of Gotham tonight it was definitely him.

Naruto banged on the back door. "Manny open up!" He didn't have time for this shit. Ninja wannabes were after him and he wanted to get out the city before any more of them jumped out of the shadows.

The door flew open and a hand shot out and grabbed him by his orange t-shirt and pulled him in. His claws almost popped out of hand, but he managed to control himself. One of Manny's goons had been the one to grab him. A huge man that towered of the teen

"Get your damn hands off me," Naruto growled as he shoved the man.

"Watch your mouth punk." The man said as he prepared to strike the blonde, fist raised.

"Hold it!" Naruto and the goon turned to see Manny's short figure step out of an office. "Jesus Christ kid you've been here for a minute and are already starting a fight."

"Must be my sparkingly personality," Naruto muttered sarcastically as he pushed past the guard. He stepped into Manny's office.

"You want a drink kid," Manny asked as he closed the door and sat behind his desk. Manny pointed to a large bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

"Sure."

Manny poured the alcohol into the glasses and handed one to Naruto who took a sip of it. "Alright kid tell me what's going on."

Naruto drained the rest of his drink and placed it on the desk. "I was attacked by fucking ninjas tonight."

Manny looked at him with wide eyes. "If we were anywhere else in the world I would call you crazy, but this is also Gotham sooo..."

"Yeah tell me about it," Naruto exclaimed as he poured another glassful of alcohol. His head was feeling weird again. "I know this is gonna sound weird, but have you heard of ninja's in Gotham before."

"Rumors here and there," Manny answered as he opened up the top drawer of his desk and pulled out different files. Some of them had names on them like Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy to a name a few. Manny focused on one with the name Shadows on it. "Let me guess. Black hooded figures with ninjatō swords?" He said as he handed Naruto a blurry picture similar to the men who had attacked him.

"Yep, that's them. Hard to forgot those ninjas." Naruto said as he glanced over the picture. Cloaked in black the figures would be an intimidating sight to a normal person, but Naruto had faced the worst and come out alright. These temes were just another thing to add to the growing list of strange shit to happen to him.

"From what evidence I've managed to gather. They're called the Shadows. Some sort of hidden order of assassins that are supposedly the best at what they do."

"Not anymore they're not." Naruto interrupted with a sharp smirk.

"No kidding. I don't know what they want with you kid, but it can't be good." Naruto nodded in agreement as he stood up from his chair. He knew exactly why these nutjobs wanted him. After all how often did a kid with an unbreakable metal skeleton and claws just happen? Naruto always figured someone would eventually come after him and when they did he would ready. It was why he trained, why he fought in the Underground. Answers were being delivered to him finally and he was ready.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"They'll be coming to me soon," Naruto said as he stumbled around the room in a daze. "What the hell's wrong with me." He had never felt like this before. The room was spinning around him. Naruto rubbed his eyes and felt his mouth go dry.

"That would be the tranquilizer that was in your drink," Manny revealed with a smirk as he placed his untouched glass back onto the desk. "Boys tell my new friends that the cargo is ready for transport."

"What the fuck Manny?" Naruto growled as he stumbled to his knees. He wouldn't go back.

"Quit calling me that kid. I hate when you call me that. I am the fucking Manager! I demand respect! Something that you never gave me. Some meta freak with no sense! So when the Shadows came to me with a big payday for your information who was I to turn them down! They were supposed to capture you tonight after your fights, but then the damn cops showed up." The man shouted as four men entered the room. "Pick this freak up and get him out of my office. And get me a new bottle of whiskey! It's time to celebrate!" Manny grinned cruelly. "If it's any consolation kid, Roulette really did want you for Meta-Brawl."

"Your a going to regret this Manny..." Naruto promised as he felt a wave of familiar anger fill him.

"Come on kid, it's nothing personal. Just smart business. " Manny said greedily. "Besides what are you gonna do. There was enough shit in that drink to knock out five men twice your size."

"Because that shit doesn't work on me." Naruto roared as his claws burst from his hands. He spun and brought them down on the two goons closest to him ranking them down their chest. Both men fell back as the other two reached for their handguns and fired multiple shots into him.

"Jesus Christ shoot him!"

"Holy Shit!" Manny shouted as the room descended into chaos. Naruto would kill everyone. Needed to kill everyone. They had tried to send him back. Back to the place that existed in his nightmares with the needles and the drills and the experiments. He wouldn't let them take him back.

"Raaahhhh!" Naruto charged them as the bullets pierced his skin, yet he tanked straight through them. Manny took the chance to run out of the room as Naruto tackled one of the men out the office window. Glass flew everywhere as Naruto and the man hit the ground. He would have sunk his claws into the man's chest if, not for the other goon running and grabbing him by the back of his shirt and lifting him off the floor. A fist hit Naruto on the side of his head, but he shook it off and drove his knee into the man's stomach. As the man bent over from the force of the blow, Naruto brought his clawed fist up and drove it into the man's throat. He pulled back and the dead man fell to the ground. He turned to the last man who was attempting to crawl away from the blonde monster who had killed everyone.

"Boo!" Naruto growled as the man shot up and ran like the devil was chasing him. Naruto had bigger worries like getting that shithead Manny to cough up some information. He took one sniff of the air and had the greasy little man's scent. Like a wolf on the hunt and began to track him down. He clawed his way through the garage door to see Manny getting into an SUV, a look of dread on his face. Naruto wouldn't let him escape. He charged at the vehicle in a dead sprint as the driver began to take off. In one leap he was on top of it.

"Would you kill this fuck already!" Manny shouted to his last guard who fired up through the roof at Naruto who shrugged off the pain. He drove his claws through the roof and slashed through the metal like a knife through butter. The driver screamed as Naruto grabbed hold of the wheel and forced the SUV to drive head first into a concrete wall. Naruto flew forward and smashed through as the car came to crashing halt.

Manny's door opened and he attempted to get out of the vehicle. He fell to the ground in a heap. Blood covering him from numerous cuts on his face and body.

"I told you didn't I Manny. That you were going to regret this decision." Naruto called out with a mocking tone. He climbed through the rumble and stalked towards the downed crime lord. Claws at the ready. Numerous wounds healing across his body. Now he just looked like a teenager wearing a badly ripped orange t-shirt and jeans.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..." Manny mumbled as he tried to crawl away. But Naruto was quicker. He was on the downed man and flipped him over only to feel a fierce pain as Manny drove a hidden knife into his stomach. Naruto growled and grabbed Manny's arm and with a twist snapped it.

"AHHH!" Naruto ignored the cries of pain and pulled the knife out and dropped it.

"You don't learn, do you? You can't fucking kill me!" Naruto roared as he grabbed Manny's other arm. "Now you're going to tell me what I need to know. Like who wanted me dead!" He grabbed Manny's index finger. "Or I can start on your with your fingers."

"They didn't want you dead! Only captured! That why I tried to knock you out! AGGHH!" Naruto snapped the finger and moved on to the next one in line. "They wanted you shipped to some place called Cadmus Labs. We were supposed to deliver you to the Shadows who would take you to Cadmus Labs!"

"And where is Cadmus Labs?" Naruto asked with a feral grin as he snapped another finger.

"FUCK! It's in D.C! I swear!" Manny cried as Naruto let go of his hand.

"Thank you for your time." Naruto stood up and raised his claws in the air. He would have finished. Wiped this shit stain off the map with his metal claws and would have. If not for the red and blue lights and sirens filling the alley. "Luck is on your side tonight Manny." He sheathed his claws. "But fighting cops? Well been there, done that. Don't suppose you'll mind if I borrow a ride. No? Great!" Naruto ran back into the garage and got into a pickup truck. Flipping the visor a set of keys fell into his lap. Naruto started the truck with a roar and put it into drive.

He hit the gas pedal and the truck moved forward smashing through another garage door and out into the street. Seeing cop cars parked in front of him, Naruto sped the truck up and rammed through them. Metal and glass flew through the air as Naruto smashed his way through the cop cars.

 _'That was awesome!'_ Naruto thought to himself as he drove down the street. His life was turning into an action movie. _'I told Jason I could drive!'_

Naruto needed to hurry. The longer he stayed in Gotham, the more likely he'd miss his chance to find out about Cadmus Labs. He glanced down at his heads as they tighten around the steering wheel.

* * *

"Dude, what the hell happened to you?" Jason asked Naruto as he slammed his front door shut.

"Life," Naruto answered dryly as walked back to his room. Sitting right next to his bed was an old duffel bag that was always filled up with extra clothes in case of emergencies like tonight.

"What's that for?" Worry seeped through Jason's words and Naruto sighed. Now for the hard part.

"Jason... I'm going on a trip. And I don't know when I'm going to be back-"

"What! What are you talking about?" Jason asked frantically and Naruto didn't blame the kid. Besides his crazy parents, Jason had no one. Except for Naruto. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about what Jason's situation would turn into without him around.

"Some things have come up. Things that I need to take care before someone gets hurt." Naruto replied as he made his way out of the room, Jason hot on his trail.

"You're going to be back right?" Naruto stopped and looked down at his young friend.

"Look, Jason..." Before Naruto could reassure him, a knocking came from Naruto's front door. They both turned to it as someone knocked again. Naruto took a sniff of the air and recognized the scent. "Ted?" He mumbled as he made his way to the door and opened it.

"Hey, kid." Ted greeted with a kind smile.

"Ted, what are you doing here? It's like 2 in the morning." Confusion filled Naruto's voice.

"Damn kid and here I thought you'd be happy to see me," Ted answered teasingly as he walked into the apartment. "I heard there was a crackdown on the Underground tonight. Wanted to make sure you were alright." He noticed Jason standing behind Naruto. "Who's the pipsqueak?"

"Hey! My name is Jason and I'm actually tall for my age!" Jason defended himself

"I'm fine Ted. I don't know how you know about the Underground and the fights, but I made it out. Cops swarmed the place, but I fought my way out."

"Damn. You look like shit Naruto." Ted noticed as he finally got a good look at him. Ripped and torn clothing left a sketchy image and Naruto looked like he had been put through a shredder.

"Ted I don't really have time to explain..."

"Kid are you in some kind of trouble?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not going to lie. Some crazy shit happened tonight. Shit, I would have liked to never have happened, but I need to go to deal with."

"So you are leaving Gotham?" Jason asked again with an angry frown. "This is bull and you know it!"

"Jason I don't want to leave. But I need answers and the only way to get answers is by going to the source of my troubles." Naruto tried to explain. "But I promise I'll be back. And you know I always keep my promises."

Jason frowned before running out of Naruto's apartment. Naruto could only watch in silent sadness as the boy ran to his home.

"I need better luck," Naruto commented to Ted who shook his head.

"Follow me Naruto," Ted said as they walked out of the apartment building. "I can give you something for your trip." Stepping out into the street Naruto's eyes landed on what had to be the most beautiful machine his eyes had ever seen. It was a black and silver 63' Harley Dual Rider.

"Whoa." Naruto looked the motorcycle over with wide eyes.

"I don't know where your going kid, but your gonna need a ride to get there. Besides I'm too damn old to keep riding this thing everywhere." Ted said with a broad grin.

"Ted man you don't have to do this."

"I know, but I want to." Ted shot back. "This last week kid has been the most fun I've had in a very long time. If I can help you by giving you a ride then I'll do it."

"Thank you, Ted," Naruto said as he sat down on the bike. It felt right like he was supposed to ride a motorcycle. "I'm gonna need one more favor from you."

"Name it."

"I need you to look after Jason until I get back. Make sure he's alright and stays out of trouble."

"I can do that," Ted said without hesitation. Naruto stuck his hand out and he and Ted shook hands. "Take care kid."

"You to old man," Naruto said as he put the keys into the ignition and started the bike. He sent one last wave to the window where Jason's apartment was. He had a feeling that the kid was watching him. The bike peeled out into the street and Naruto was off.

He would be back. Gotham had a hold on him and he would back. After he dealt with whatever was in Cadmus Labs.

Deep inside the recesses of Naruto's mind. A large being sat behind his cage, a large feral grin on his face.

 **"This damn brat always manages to find trouble."** The Fox laughed as Naruto rode away from Gotham City.

* * *

One broken arm, two broken fingers, five cracked ribs, and a concussion. That was what punishment had been dealt to the man known as the Manager in one night. All by one psychotic pissed off blond monster with metal claws.

"God damn freak," Manny muttered from his hospital bed. He was under constant watch from GCPD after they had saved him from Naruto and when he was finally healed he would make sure that punk ass kid was put into the ground.

The door opened and he turned to see a pretty doctor walking in with a clipboard in hand. She had long black hair that was pulled back into a bun and a body most women would kill for. that was mostly hidden by a white coat, but not enough that Manny couldn't leer lecherously at her.

"Well aren't you a beauty," Manny said sleazily.

"Aren't you a charmer." The doctor said sarcastically as she checked over all the machines. If Manny's arms and hands weren't messed up he would have smacked her ass. "You know I heard something crazy about you."

"Oh yeah, what was that?"

"That you screwed over the League of Shadows." The woman answered as she jammed a knife into Manny's chest. She quickly placed her hand over his mouth in order to muffle his cries of pain. "As you can see they send their regards." The knife was coated with a poison that would paralyze the victim and slowly incite a heart attack. Nothing here could be traced back to her.

As Manny laid in in his hospital bed in excruciating pain the woman thought about the mysterious boy that had interacted with her little sister all night.

 _'My, my he was yummy.'_ She stepped out of the room and casually walked away. Jade Nguyen would have to keep her eyes on Artemis's boyfriend. He was rather interesting.

* * *

And done. This was a fun chapter because I really was able to let Naruto loose on people. No knockouts just straight up clawing people. Some interactions with Artemis which was also fun to write. Next time we see Naruto and the sidekicks versus Cadmus Labs. Shit is about to get started.

Anyway, while I was writing this chapter a thought occurred to me. You know how you read a story you picture certain voice actors voicing the characters in the fic. Like if you read Batman saying something you hear it as Kevin Conroy or Christian Bale. Well, I was thinking about who would voice Naruto and Kurama and my story and I'm going with Jensen Ackles for Naruto Uzumaki and Keith David for Kurama. For those of you who don't who these actors are, Jensen Ackles plays Dean Winchester in Supernatural and voiced Red Hood/Jason Todd in the animated movie, Under the Red Hood. Keith David is known for voicing Goliath from the animated series Gargoyles and Spawn/Al Simmions. That's just me though.

As always I own known of this. I do own a laptop in which my madness turns into written form. Have a nice night.


	6. Chapter 5: The Team

_Washington D.C_

 _July 4, 2010_

"Can I get you a refill sweetie?"

"That would be awesome. Thank you." Naruto said to the waitress as she filled up his cup with more coffee. He had ridden all night to reach D.C and was in desperate need of the caffeinated drink. It had taken him more than three hours which had given him plenty of time to go over his game plan. As much as he wanted to go charging into Cadmus Labs looking for answers, all that would give him would be funny looks and a one-way trip to the looney bin.

Deciding to stop in a diner that wasn't too far away from the labs to get some breakfast seemed like a good idea. In the last twenty-four hours, he had been chased by cops, stabbed by ninjas, and betrayed by someone he thought he could trust. Naruto fully believed he deserved a stack of pancakes.

He glanced at his phone which sat silently on the counter. He wondered how Jason was doing and how he felt about the whole situation. Poor kid was probably about to rip his hair out in boredom without Naruto around.

Fourth of July in D.C had to be one of the most chaotic times in Washington D.C. Thousands of people wanting to celebrate their countries birthday. Naruto wasn't really in the mood to celebrate just yet.

The door to the diner swung open behind him with an audible ring from the bell. Naruto was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't bother to look up to see the two gunmen.

"Everyone down!" One of the robbers shouted as he fired a round into the air. Naruto took a sip of his coffee as the other patrons dropped to the ground as the men waived their guns around. "That means you blondie!" The man shouted as he pointed his gun at Naruto.

"You don't want to point that at me," Naruto warned as he set his cup down and spun around in his chair to face the gunmen. One was a large heavyset man with a shotgun in his hands while the other was skinny and had long slicked-back brown hair with a handgun.

"What are you doing!?" The waitress asked in disbelief.

"Obviously you don't get it, kid! I ought to blow your fucking head off!" The skinny one shouted as he aimed his gun at Naruto's temple. Naruto's arm shot up and his claws emerged from his hand, cutting clean through the handgun and causing the man to go stumbling back.

"What the hell?" The other man exclaimed shaking where he stood. Naruto moved forward and grabbed the gun out of the man's hand before he could react and bashed him across his head with it.

"Now I was having a nice breakfast before you two assholes showed up," Naruto said as he glared at the skinny one who was still conscious. Naruto reached down and pulled a wallet out of the other robber's pocket. "I think it's only fair that you pay for mine and everyone else's breakfast..."

"Sure man! Just don't use those claws on me!" The man whimpered as quickly reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Naruto's claws withdrew and he snatched the wallet out his hands. Naruto tossed both wallets to the waitress who fumbled to catch them out of surprise.

"You're pathetic," Naruto growled as the man whimpered again. "I could use my claws on you. But something tells me these people want a piece of you more." He motioned to several angry people who were stepping up to get closer to the man who tried to rob them. He looked at his waitress and smiled. "Have a nice Fourth of July ma'am," Naruto said as he walked out of the diner.

He had more work to do.

* * *

Cadmus Labs was pretty easy to spot. The building seemed to stand out amongst the monuments and statues that littered D.C and Naruto had to hold himself back from charging in. If he was going to do this, he was going to do this smart. Living in the wilderness of Canada had taught him that any good hunt needed to be timed perfectly. So if he had to wait hours before he could get in then he would wait. That was the smart thing to do.

 **"As smart as a dumbass like you can be brat..."**

"Now is not the time for you," Naruto muttered to himself as he watched people going in and out of the building. A plan was forming in his head.

He just wasn't sure it was a good one.

 **"You have got to be kidding me."**

"Hey, this is going to work." He shot back to the voice in his head with a mutter as he continued to survey the building. He wasn't really sure what he was looking for. All he knew was that he was supposed to be brought here.

"What makes this place so special?" Naruto wondered as he slowly walked across the street, trying to act casual.

Naruto took a sniff of the air. It might have sounded weird but Cadmus smelled wrong. There was something in the scent around the place that was different.

 **"There's something here and it's trying to knock on our door and I don't like it."** The voiced snarled in annoyance.

 _'Well, I don't care what you like. Now would you leave me alone.'_ Naruto shot back as he found a spot to survey the building. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He popped one of the cancer sticks into his mouth and lit it. Naruto tried to focus on anything else besides what the voice said. Because the voice was right. There was a pressure that was building in his head. A pulsing pain that grew stronger as he got closer to Cadmus. Whatever it was, it didn't want him here. As he grabbed the side of his head a loud alarm filled the air. The ringing bell caused Naruto to turn to Cadmus to see what was going on.

People were quickly evacuating the building as smoke came out from one of the many windows. Naruto spat his cigarette out and grinned.

"Heh time to go to work." He said as he pushed past people who were sending him strange looks. After all how many people wanted to enter a burning building.

* * *

"This seemed a lot easier in my head," Naruto said as he explored Cadmus. Truth be told he really didn't know what he was looking for as walked past numerous empty labs and offices. For a building as large as Cadmus it sure cleared out fast.

 **"There's someone here. Stop and listen."** Naruto for the first time ever decided to listen to the voice in his head and stopped to listen to his surroundings. It was faint but he could hear what sounded like light footsteps. He took a sniff of the air. Whatever was walking didn't smell right. Didn't smell human. Then again neither did he.

"Come out I'm not going to hurt you," Naruto said in an attempt to be friendly. He could see the outline of a person hiding in the shadows. With a flick of its hand, Naruto went flying back from an unseen force and slammed into a desk. Then he was flying forward and smashing into a wall. He slowly slid down and let out a groan of pain. He could hear the voice in his head chuckling as Naruto quickly stood up.

"Ow, what the hell was that." He asked as a cut on his face sealed shut.

"Yous should not have come here Weapon X. This place is could be your doom if they capture you. You need to leave." A voice said from the shadows. Naruto released his claws.

"I'm not going anywhere bub! I came for answers and I will get them!" Naruto growled with a pointing finger. He had come all this way to find answers and to turn back now because of some creature that was hiding in the shadows. He charged forward with claws at the ready but the person was ready. Naruto could see the person's eyes and head lit up in red and with another flick of his hand, the creature sent Naruto flying back again. Naruto dug his claws into the floor to slow himself down.

"You are a stubborn person Weapon X." The man stepped out to reveal that he wasn't a man at all. It was a tall skinny creature that resembled a human. Its skin was a deep blue and atop its head was a set of horns. It was dressed in simple white clothing.

"What the hell are you?" Naruto mumbled in confusion. Never before had he seen something so bizarre.

"I am a result of Project Cadmus. I am a Genomorph. In many ways, I am like you. In others, I am so very different. If you truly wish to discover the secrets that are hidden here I ask you to take the elevator that is behind me. I must tell you though, you may not like what you find." The creature explained.

"And what about you? Where are you going? And how do I know I can trust you?" Naruto demanded with a snarl

"I must wait here. I am expecting guests shortly. And to answer your last question I ask you that you put a little trust in me."

Naruto released one last growl before sighing and sheathing his claws. "What floor."

"Thank you Weapon-"

"And enough of that Weapon X crap. My name is Naruto."

"Very well Naruto. I am Dubbilex. You need to take the elevator down to sub-level 10. It is there you may find the answers that you seek." Dubbilex said as the elevator doors opened behind him. Before Naruto entered, he turned to Dubbilex.

"If this is a trap then I promise you there will be nowhere that is safe for you. I'll hunt you down. And I always keep my promises." Naruto warned then stepped into the elevator.

"I truly believe you," Dubbilex said as the doors shut. Now it was time for him to wait. He was hopefully expecting more guests.

* * *

"What have you gotten yourself into Naruto?" Naruto asked himself as the elevator came to a stop.

 **"Probably going to get yourself killed."**

"Am not."

 **"Are too."**

"Would you shut up. God its sucks having someone live inside your head."

 **"I'm in your stomach dumbass."**

"Now is not the time for this," Naruto shouted ending his conversation with the annoying voice. The elevator doors opened slowly to show a massive structure. A lab of some sort. Naruto stepped forward and looked around in realization. It was the same set up that he had escaped from in Canada.

He walked through the entire lab taking in his surroundings. It was the same lab in which he had been experimented on. In right in the center of the lab was a glass tank.

Images flashed through his mind. A tank of water quickly turning red. Naruto covered in blood. A young girl around his age. Pain. Pain. **PAIN.**

Naruto let out a bestial roar and his claws shot of his hand and slashed them through a desk cutting it in half.

"They were bringing me here to start over. Create more of this..." Naruto stated in realization as he looked at his claws. They wanted more beings like him. Damn near indestructible and full of fury. "I got to do something. Destroy everything that's here. " Cadmus would burn. He promised himself that no one else would ever have to go through what he did.

Before Naruto could do anything else several growls came from behind him. Creatures that resembled Dubbilex started to surround him. They were different, however. These creatures were built for battle. Strong looking with clawed fingers and sharp fangs.

"So you must be the welcoming committee." Naruto taunted as more creatures entered the lab. "Well then let's get started." With that Naruto ran right into the pack of creatures. Claws at the ready. With a yell he swiped at one of the creatures as it leaped at him, cutting into his chest and causing the monster to screech in pain. Another one had latched onto his back and sank its fangs into his shoulder. Naruto smashed his claws into its face and right through its head killing it instantly.

He was forced to jump back as more jumped at him trying to rip him to shreds.

"So you fugly bastards have some fight in yuh, hey?" Roars were his answer and Naruto grinned. He jumped and spun through the air, clawing through two more as he did. As Naruto came down he jammed his claws into another creature, pinning it down. Another one tackled him through the glass tank. Naruto pressed his foot into the creature's chest and kicked it off sending it to the ceiling. He rolled out of the tank, spat out some blood and grinned despite his situation.

He was enjoying this fight a little bit.

More of the creature descended on him and a fierce upward slash had him covered in gore. A roar of triumph was released from his throat.

"I'm the Wolverine and I'm the best at what I do!" Naruto cheered with his hands raised. The remaining creatures retreated, their numbers greatly decreased. "Bunch of cowards! Afraid to take me on." A thud came from behind him causing Naruto to stop celebrating. He turned to see a much larger creature built as big as an elephant and it walked on its knuckles like a gorilla.

"Well, you're certainly a big one." The new creature let out a huff before roaring in Naruto's face, spit flying everywhere and covering Naruto. "Hey, that was just rude. Looks like I'm gonna need to teach you some manners!" Naruto shouted as he leaped at the creature's face and clawing into its thick hide. The creature shook about trying to dislodge the blonde to no avail. Naruto's claws were in deep. He raised his clawed left hand and ran it across the creature's eye causing the creature to moan in pain. Having had enough of Naruto it finally slammed its face into the ground and effectively smashing Naruto.

"Ow," Naruto muttered as he picked himself up. He turned to see a massive hand heading right for him. The creature had backhanded Naruto with a hand that was just as big as Naruto was and freakishly strong at that. Naruto felt himself go flying backward and through the metal doors of the elevator. His back slammed into the wall of the elevator shaft and he began to fall with no clue as to where he was going. "OH CRAP!"

 **"I told you were going to get yourself killed."**

"I'm not dead yet!" Naruto shouted as he dug his claws into the side of the wall, slowly stopping his descent and causing sparks to fly. "And would you shut up!" He stopped a moment to catch his breath. "Damn do I miss the chumps I used to fight." He looked around to see just how far he had fallen down the shaft. "Sub-level 26 huh? Looks like someone else crashed the party." The elevator doors had been forced open recently and there were three distinct scents hanging in the air. Whoever else was there and had just been by here and Naruto had a feeling that they were just as unwelcome here as he was. Naruto jumped from the wall and landed on the next level.

Today officially sucked. Even more than yesterday. Cops, mobsters, and ninjas were easy. They at least didn't try to eat you.

Naruto took another sniff of the air. They were still close and there was something else in the air. More of those things. He took off at down the corridor with his claws at the ready. For the briefest of seconds, it felt like he was going faster than ever before. As he turned around the corner instincts kicked in and he lunged forward swiping at two creature that was about to pounce on an unsuspecting teen wearing a yellow outfit.

"Whoah! Who the hell are you?" The teen exclaimed as Naruto pushed him out of the way of another one of the creatures. Naruto lashed out with his foot and kicked the creature across its face. There was another teen there that was fighting for his life with a man dressed in a strange outfit and at the moment Naruto was a little busy to get a look at him. One of those creatures was busy trying to rip his guts out with those clawed fingers.

"Less talking more fighting!" Naruto ordered as he backhanded the creature away. His eyes darted around as he looked at the number of creatures surrounding them. There were more of them than before. Perhaps he could take them. But it would be at the cost of one of these sidekicks lives and that was something he didn't want. "We gotta move." One of those creatures lunged at him again and stepped back before slashing the creature across its torso.

"Just who are you exactly?" One of the teens demanded as they broke off from the fighting and took off down the hallway.

"Right now I'm a guy in the same boat as you. Running for his life!" They came to the end of the hallway to see the third and final teen doing something to the elevator.

"Way to be a team player Rob!" The one in yellow shouted

"I thought you were right behind me." The teen said as the elevator opened and they rushed in just as the rest of the creatures were about to reach them.

"Whew, that was close... Who's this guy?" Robin asked with caution in his tone.

"I am curious as well."

Naruto was finally able to get a good look at the three before him. The first was a dark-skinned teen that was probably about the same age as Naruto. He had light blonde hair that cut short and he was wearing a red tank shirt, dark blue pants, and a strange belt with a buckle that resembled an "A". On his pack was some sort of pack that allowed him to draw water bearers and his arms had a set of tattoos. The strangest thing though was the set of gills on the side of his neck. The next teen was wearing a yellow outfit with red pants and gloves with yellow shoes and a red lightning bolt emblem on his chest. The final teen had to be the youngest but also the most famous due to his affiliation with the Batman. He was wearing a red vest that was held together by yellow fasteners, black pants, boots, and gloves that all seemed to be made of the same body armor like material. On the left side of his chest was a yellow "R" symbol and around his waist there was a yellow utility belt that Naruto had no doubt was filled with all sorts of gadgets.

 **"And I thought your old sense of fashion was weird..."**

"It's only fair that you guys introduce yourselves first," Naruto said as he leaned against the elevator wall.

The fish-boy sighed. "Very well. I am Aqualad. This is Robin and Kid Flash." He answered as he pointed to his two friends. Robin waived good-naturedly at Naruto while Kid Flash looked at him suspicion in his eyes.

"My name is Naruto and is there a reason why this ride is going down?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Project Kr is down on sub-level 52. I want to find out what it is fishcake." Robin said with a smirk.

"What the hell id Project Kr?... And don't call me fishcake bird boy." Naruto growled as Robin held up his hands in jokingly surrendering motion.

"You tell us Mr. Razor Hands?" Kid Flash asked with arms crossed.

"Look Kid Idiot I've probably been in Cadmus about as long you have. All I know is they're up to some weird stuff here." Weird stuff like experimenting with forces that shouldn't be messed with. Project Cadmus was a dangerous example of what happens when humans decide to play god.

"Is that what brought you here?" Aqualad asked as the elevator came to a stop on sub-level 52.

"Something like that," Naruto muttered as the elevator came to a stop. They prepared for the worst as the doors opened to reveal a massive cavern-like structure. "Seriously how the hell did they do this?" 52 underground levels right in the middle of the capitol. How is it that it took four teens to find all this. _'Scooby-doo eat your heart out.'_ Naruto thought with a chuckle as they walked around. They even had a talking dog if you counted a tall blue-skinned humanoid that helped out when it wanted to.

"This has gotten out of hand." Aqualad sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "Perhaps we should contact the league." Robin ignored the suggestion and raced ahead.

"We are already here." Kid Flash said with a shrug and ran after him.

"Hey I agree with you on this one," Naruto said as they both went after the other two teens. "Which way?"

"I don't know. Bizarre hallway number one or bizarre hallway number two?"

"Tough decision," Naruto joked as he eyed both ways. That was when he noticed something. Appearing in one of the tunnels was a familiar face. "Dubbilex?" Naruto muttered as he eyed the man who had pointed him down here.

"Halt!" Dubbilex ordered as his eyes and horns glowed red. With a raise of his hand, several canisters flew at the teens which they narrowly dodged. Robin pulled a Batarang from his belt and threw it at Dubbilex who stopped it right as it was about to hit him. Naruto and the sidekicks took off down the other hallway just as Dubbilex launched three barrels at them.

Dubbilex turned to see the elevator doors opening to reveal Guardian and a pack of G-elves following him.

"There handed for Project Kr!" Dubbilex informed and they chased after the teens.

Kid Flash sped past Naruto and led the teens down the hallway. His eyes darted everywhere looking for a possible escape route. That's when one of those creatures pounced from the ceiling of the cavern and was about to claw into Aqualad. Naruto pushed him away taking the full brunt of the clawed hands into his stomach.

"Grrr!" A pained growl escaped his mouth as he grabbed the creature's arm and shoved it away. Aqualad stopped to help Naruto as he wrestled with the G-Elf. "No! get out of here! I'll be fine!" Naruto ordered as he pushed the creature and punched it across its face. More were coming. He could smell them in the air.

"We won't leave you," Aqualad declared as he and Robin turned to help him as several more Genomorphs jumped at Naruto.

SNIKT! Naruto's claws emerged from his hands and he swiped at the monsters before him who jumped back to avoid his deadly weapons.

"I'll hold em off. Find Kid Flash and I'll meet up with you guys later." Naruto said as he continued to hold the G-Elves back.

"You heard him let's go!" Robin said grabbing Aqualad's shoulder and pulling him ahead. Naruto didn't stop to watch them go. He was too busy trying to hold these things back. Two of them tackled into him and all three of them went rolling across the ground. Naruto kicked one of them away and used his arm to keep the second one away from his throat as it tried to bite his jugular.

"God damn am I tired of you things!" With a mighty shove, Naruto sent the creature away and tumbling across the ground. Before Naruto could move to finish the creature off, he felt a force push him back and slam into the wall. "Owww..." He had felt this sensation before. Dubbilex was nearby. Before he could stand up and move he felt the same force push him up and into the ceiling of the cavern. He dug his claws into the ceiling and stopped himself from going anywhere else. He watched as Dubbilex and a group of Genomorphs ran past. Dubbilex looked right at him before continuing down the hallway.

"Thanks, a lot you blue bastard." Naruto frowned as the voice in his head started laughing at his misfortune. "And of course you start to chime in..."

 **"Of course. Your pain is my one source of laughter while I'm stuck in here!"**

"Fuck you!" Naruto shouted as he dropped from the ceiling, spun mid-air and landed on his feet. "Now which way?"

 **"Follow the blue meatbag. Perhaps you can find some answers to your dilemma."**

"Well look at you being useful..." Naruto trailed after them, sticking to the shadows and watching for any more of those Genomorphs. Quickly catching up to Dubbilex and his group Naruto noticed that there were more humans with him. One was the man who had been fighting with Aqualad and was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit with a golden helmet covering his head. Next to him was a dark-skinned woman with a pair of glasses on. The last human was an older man with a frustrated look on his face as he paced the room.

"Get some G-Trolls down here and muscle this door open!" He ordered fiercely

"Already on their way Dr. Desmond," Guardian said in an attempt to appease the doctor.

"You realize once we get in there we can't let them leave," Desmond said to his head of security.

"Doc these aren't your usual meddling kids. You don't want to get on the wrong side of the Justice League."

"Better than getting on the wrong side of the Cadmus board of directors," Desmond warned sinisterly as he looked to the G-Gnome sitting on Guardian's shoulder. "Contact the G-Gnomes in Kr." The little creature's eyes and horns glowed red for a brief second.

'Just what is Project Kr?' Naruto thought to himself in wonder. Was it another person like him? Broken and rebuilt for another person's amusement? Or was it something else. Dubbilex did say that he was similar to Naruto, yet different.

There was the sound of a battle going on the room now. Whatever Project Kr was it didn't like people apparently. The heavy metal doors slid open to reveal a dark-haired teen standing there forcing the door open. He was wearing a white solar suit with a red 'S' on the chest.

"At a boy," Desmond said

 _'Wait, Project Kr... Krypton... As in Superman?!'_ Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. They had remade the most famous hero in the world in their little science lab and Naruto had a feeling it wasn't for a good purpose.

 **"Seems like this Project Cadmus is more like our former captors then I thought."**

 _'Yeah, no kidding.'_

 **"Now your going to go be a hero aren't you."** The way the voice said it wasn't a question.

 _'Well, at least you know me.'_ Naruto thought with a smirk as he followed behind them as they carried the teens away.

 **"Hmph just don't die."**

 _'No promises.'_

* * *

The sidekicks were carried to a separate chamber where they put in pods. Superboy watched them with a look in his eyes that Naruto recognized as curiosity. It was a look that he recognized from himself. Kid Flash suddenly woke up as if startled by something followed by Robin and Aqualad. Superboy continued to give them the same look as he analyzed the three teens. Naruto continued to hide in the shadows of the room, waiting for the moment to strike. He didn't know what the capabilities were of this Superboy, but he wanted to see how this played out.

"Dude would you stop looking at like that. You're freaking me out!"

"Uh KF probably not a good idea to piss off the guy with heat vision," Robin warned as Kid Flash looked at him nervously.

"We're trying to help you," Aqualad told Superboy

"Yeah we freed you and you turned on us! How's that for gratitude!" Kid Flash added angrily

"Kid please be quiet now. I don't believe our new friend was in control of his actions." Aqualad said as Robin popped a lock picking tool out of his glove.

"And...What if I wasn't..." Superboy mumbled quietly as if he was unused to his voice.

"He can talk!" Kid Flash said surprised.

"Yes, he can," Superboy growled louder.

 _'Smooth Kid.'_ Naruto thought dryly with a headshake.

"It's not like I said it."

"The genomorphs taught you telepathically." Aqualad realized

"They taught me much. I can read, write. I know the name of things..."

"But have you seen them? Have they ever let you see the sky? Or the sun?" Robin questioned

"There are images implanted in my mind... But no I have not seen them." Superboy revealed as he thought over everything he knew.

"Do you know what you are? Who you are?" Aqualad asked

"I am the Superboy. A genomorph. A clone made from the DNA of the Superman. Created to replace him should he perish. To destroy him should he turn from the Light." Superboy said in a memorized tone. The three teenage proteges looked in shock.

 _'Damn that was bleak.'_ Naruto thought as he watched Superboy. And this could have been him. Hell for a few months this had been him. Naruto hadn't planned on helping some Superman clone, but he couldn't leave him here. He deserved better than this kind of existence.

"To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration. But like Superman, you deserve a life of your own. Beyond that solar suit. Beyond your pod. Beyond Cadmus." Aqualad tried to convince Superboy.

"I live because of Cadmus! It is my home!" Superboy shouted

"Dude your home is a test tube. We can show you the sun."

"I'm pretty sure it's after midnight. But we can show you the moon." Kid Flash added

"We can introduce you to Superman," Aqualad said in one last attempt to convince Superboy to join them. And for a moment it looked like they succeeded.

"No, they can't," Desmond said cutting in. He, Guardian and the other doctor walked into the room. " They'll be otherwise occupied. Start the cloning process."

"Pass, Batcave is crowded enough," Robin argued

"And get the weapon back in its pod!" Desmon ordered as Guardian stepped forward.

"Oh, so he can call Supey it." Kid Flash joked as Guardian touch Superboy on his shoulder which Superboy nudged off of him.

"Don't start thinking now," Desmond demanded as the G-Gnome on his shoulder jumped over to Superboy's, horns glowing as it did. "You see you're not a real boy. You're a weapon! And you belong to me!... Well to Cadmus. Same thing. Now get back to your pod!" Superboy marched out of the room, caught in his trance that Naruto was determined to break him out of. Hiding in the shadows he followed after Superboy until he was far enough away that no one could stop him.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted as Superboy stopped in his tracks and turned to face Naruto. "Is that it! You're just going back to being their little pet!" Superboy stood there stonefaced and Naruto felt the need to pop his claws out in case his words didn't get through but he held the feeling back. "I got something to tell you Superboy. If you really stay here you're just existing. Not living. You need to remember that you're a person! Not a weapon! You need to ask yourself what would Superman do? You need to ask what you want to do?"

Superboy looked at him with the same stare before he flicked the G-Gnome off his shoulder. "Who are you exactly?"

Naruto grinned. "I'm Naruto and I'm the guy who's going to help you break those sidekicks out." Superboy nodded to him before both took off back to the chamber. As they came to the door Superboy grabbed onto it and ripped it off. With a simple toss, the door was on the other of the cavern. Desmond and his team turned to see Naruto and Superboy.

"What are you doing?!" Desmond cried out as he, Guardian, and Dubbilex tried to stop the duo. "Stop!" But they didn't stop. Superboy shoved all of them aside as he and Naruto made their way to the restrained sidekicks.

"You're never telling me what to do again," Superboy said enraged.

"Looks like you guys could use some help," Naruto said as pushed a button on the panel opening the pods. He jumped up popped his claws out and cut through Kid Flash's first cuff.

"Its good to see you are ok Naruto," Aqualad said with a relieved as he didn't want his new ally to be harmed.

"Wait, wait, wait. Superboy is on our side now?" Kid Flash questioned as Superboy stared at them.

"Well since I don't seem to have heat vision I guess helping you is my only option." Superboy joked as Robin finally managed to break out of his cuffs.

"Man it's a good thing Batman isn't here. He'd have my head for taking so long to get out those cuffs." Robin said as he rubbed his wrist.

"Seriously. That's what you're worried about. The whole League is gonna have our heads after tonight!" Kid Flash said as Naruto slashed through his other cuff causing him to fall forward.

"Help Aqualad down," Robin said as helped KF up.

"You don't tell me what to do either!" Superboy demanded but he still complied. He jumped up and ripped the cuffs restraining Aqualad out of the wall.

"Thank you," Aqualad said sincerely as Superboy nodded.

"Alright, boys lets get the hell out here!" Naruto shouted as he led the teens out. As he ran past he sent a nod to the downed Dubbilex who returned it with one of his own. Naruto knew that the top genomorph had ultimately helped him earlier and if he was being honest he would have never made this far without Dubbilex helped. No matter what happened Naruto swore that after all this he would help the genomorph.

"You'll never get out of here! I'll have you back in pods before the night is over!" Desmond cried out as the teens ran out of the room. Naruto stopped and turned to him.

"You can try Doc. We'll just beat you down again," Naruto growled. Robin nudged him on the arm.

"He is totally not whelmed." He joked as Naruto looked at him funnily. Robin then threw several batarangs at the pods they were in causing them to explode.

"What?"

"Dude seriously what is with this whelmed thing?" Kid Flashed asked as they continued down the hallway. Robin shrugged with a smirk. Naruto shook his head at the banter. It reminded him of Jason and the brotherly arguments they got in. Maybe these punks weren't so bad

 **"Famous last words brat. People have a way of letting you down."**

 _'Maybe. maybe not. I think people have a way of surprising each other. Maybe we just need to give each other a shot.'_ Naruto thought with a smirk while the voice went quiet.

"Were still forty-two underground. If we can just make it to the elevator." The team of teens continued down the hallway before they were stopped by several of the large G-Trolls that appeared to block their way. Superboy lunged forward with his fist at the ready striking the first G-troll that got his way. Another one smashed him into the ground. Naruto popped his claws out and stabbed them into the creature's hand electing a roar of pain out of the genomorph. Superboy nodded in thanks before moving onto the next enemy. Aqualad and the others easily maneuvered around the genomorphs while Naruto and Superboy tried their approach.

"Superboy! Naruto! We need to get out of here! Not bring the roof down on us!" Aqualad ordered as Superboy paused on his beatdown to glare at the other teen. He was about to yell out in anger before Naruto pushed him forward.

"He's right! We don't have time for this." Naruto said in agreement. There were just too many of them to fight and the hallway was to narrow to move around. Taking the fight up would be better in the long run. Superboy clenched his fist but continued on. Aqualad ripped the door open while Robin tossed a grappling hook to Naruto.

"Point it and click," Robin explained as his line shot up. Naruto followed suit and both teens shot up through the elevator. Superboy grabbed Aqualad and jumped through the air. There was a problem with Superboy's plan of action.

"I can't fly." Superboy realized as gravity took hold of him and Aqualad. Robin took action and shot a Batarang out to them, allowing Aquaman to grab on to something. "Superman can fly... Why can't I fly?" Superboy asked in shock.

"Don't know, but it looks like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Still really cool." Kid Flash said as he and Naruto helped him down.

"Thank you..." Superboy said quietly yet sincerely.

"Guys this is gonna have to be our stop," Robin shouted as he looked up to see the elevator rapidly descending. Superboy turned and punched through the doors easily only to see more of the genomorphs.

"Go!" Naruto said as they outran the G-Elves.

"Go left!" Superboy said as they approached a turn. Naruto looked at him in wonder. How could he know where to go? "Right!" The teens turned to see a dead end.

"Nice going Supey. Are you trying to get us caught?!"

"Lay off Kid mouth," Naruto said sarcastically as he and Robin stepped forward.

"Yeah this is perfect," Robin said as he pointed to the vent in the wall. Naruto popped his claws out and slashed through the grate allowing the teens to climb in. The five teens quickly climbed through the vents.

"We need to move. I can smell those things right behind us." Naruto said. They need to get out of here now.

"He's right I can hear them behind us." Superboy agreed. The teens exited the vents. Robin pulled up his holographic keyboard and began to type away.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked as Kid Flash stretched his legs.

"Oh just hacking the motion sensors," Robin replied causing Naruto to grin.

"Sweet." Kid Flash exclaimed as he pulled his goggles over his eyes. "Now I got room to move." He said speeding up a nearby stairwell and pushing dozens of genomorphs back.

"More behind us," Robin called out. Superboy turned and kicked the stairwell loose, causing the approaching genomorphs to fall. The teens continued up unimpeded.

"Not bad Supes." Naruto complimented as they exited the stairwell. Kid Flash raced ahead eager to get out of this crazy place only to run into an emergency door. He slammed into the door causing Naruto and the others to wince as Kid Flash fell to the ground.

"We're cut off from the street," Aqualad called out as they finally caught up with Kid Flash.

"Thanks. I hadn't noticed." Kid Flash replied sarcastically as he climbed to his feet. Naruto took a sniff of the air before turning and facing the approaching horde of Genomorphs. His claws were out and he faced his enemy. The other teens joined him at his side, ready to face whatever came their way.

"If we're going down. Let's at least go down swinging." Naruto said as Guardian pushed his way past his small army. Just as the two sides were about to square off, the teens except for Naruto collapsed to the floor clutching their heads in pain. "What the hell?"

 **"Someone tried to knock on our door again. I didn't take too kindly to it."**

 _'Thanks.'_

 **'Don't mention it. I have a reputation to maintain."**

"Dubbilex show yourself!" Naruto called out as he helped Superboy and the others up.

"Hello, again Naruto. I see you have befriended my brother." Dubbilex said as the other genomorphs moved aside to let him through. "So tell me, brother. What is your choice?"

Superboy looked directly Dubbilex as he made his choice. "I... Choose... Freedom!" He said confidently as Guardian shook his head as if coming out of a daze.

"Feels like... Fog... Lifting." Guardian stated as he faced the teens.

"Guardian?" Aquaman checked as Guardian came to his senses.

"Go," Guardian ordered. "I'll deal with Desmond."

"I think not!" Desmond spoke up from behind them. Everyone looked at the doctor as he pulled a vial out of his lab coat pocket. "Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus!" He announced as he drank the entire blue liquid.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure people aren't supposed to drink their own lab experiments!" Naruto said as Desmond's body shifted and changed. Desmond gripped his body as his bones snapped and became larger. His skin fell off to reveal darkened blue skin. Desmond had given up his humanity in order to best the assembled team before him. Had become a monster do to his own damn ego. Naruto found it pathetic.

"Stand back!" Guardian ordered again as he charged at the monster only to be knocked away like a bug and into the wall. Superboy was the next to attack the monster slamming his fist into Desmond's face. It barely fazed the creature that Desmon had become. He hit Superboy back with more force then what the teen was expecting. With a roar, Superboy charged again at Desmond laying punch after punch to the behemoth. Desmond grew tired of this and with a haymaker sent Superboy back. Naruto stepped in and slashed Desmond across his chest. Desmond cried out in pain as he stepped back to avoid the furious blonde. Superboy joined his fellow angered teen and lunged at Desmond. Desmond roared and charged right at Superboy. He grabbed the smaller powerhouse mid-air and shot through the ceiling.

"Damn!" Naruto called out as he and Robin shot their grappling hooks up.

"Do you think labcoat planned that?" Kid Flash asked as he grabbed onto Robin.

"I doubt he's planning anything anymore," Aqualad stated as they made their way up to Cadmus's lobby. Superboy was thrown across the room and right at the approaching teens, knocking into Aqualad and causing both of them to go tumbling across the ground. Naruto growled before charging right at Desmond. Desmond went to crush Naruto with his massive fist, but Naruto was ready. He sidestepped the strike and slashed his claws across the monstrous creature's arm. Desmond howled in pain ad he went to backhand Naruto away. Naruto jumped over the coming attack and planted his foot in the back of Desmond's head before kicking off and jumping away.

Desmond stumbled forward as Kid Flash zoomed underneath him. Superboy and Aqualad followed and both teens launched their fist right into Desmond's face, causing him to back and trip over the waiting Kid Flash. Desmond fell to the floor and a heap as Robin threw several batarangs at his downed form. Desmond was ready by know as slapped the weapons away like bugs. Superboy lunged at Desmond who caught the teen and threw him into a nearby pillar. Desmond went to strike Superboy but Naruto got in the way by tackling Desmond. Naruto went to bring his claws down but Desmond caught his arm and threw him across the room and through another of the pillars.

"I am really sick of this guy," Naruto mumbled as he pushed concrete off him. Flashes went through his mind causing him to grab his head in pain. Images of him going through hand signs at a rapid pace. "What the hell..."

 **"Concentrate and feel your energy. Then use the hand signs."** Naruto listened to the voice for once and closed his eyes and focused. Energy surged through him causing him to open his eyes in shock. **"Do it now!"** The voice ordered and Naruto complied. His heads went through the motions but for the life of him, Naruto didn't know what they were.

"Kage Bushin Jutsu!" Naruto roared as puffs of smoke surrounded him. When it cleared there were ten more Narutos standing in front of him. Naruto's eyes locked onto Desmond. " Get him!"

"Hai boss!" The clones yelled as the charged the monstrous form of Desmond. Desmond roared in pain as ten Narutos launched themselves into his body.

"Dude since when could you clone yourself?" Kid Flash asked he stopped by Naruto.

"Since forever I guess. But they won't hold him off for long so we need a plan to bring him down." Naruto said as Kid Flash nodded to him. Even now the clones were being swatted away and turning into smoke.

"Robin has a plan. I'm gonna go distract ugly." Kid Flash informed and the sped off. Naruto found Robin going over something on his screen.

"We're gonna bring the building down," Robin said as he pointed to Aqualad and Superboy. "Aqualad I need water over here. Superboy you and Naruto need to hit Desmond at the right moment to keep him in this spot I'm gonna set these charges to knock the rest of the pillars down."

"Bring the building down? Sounds like fun." Naruto said as he turned to Superboy. "You hit him high and I'll hit him low." Superboy nodded in agreement and both teens got into position. "This is gonna be good."

Kid Flash ran by and skid across the water that Aqualad had set up. Desmond following right behind him. Naruto and Superboy lunged forward, Superboy striking Desmond in his face while Naruto slashed him across his torso. As soon as Desmond was down, Aqualad lit the water up with electricity, electrocuting the monster and causing him to roar in pain.

"We gotta move now!" Robin ordered as the carefully placed batarangs started to go off. The whole building was coming down and Naruto didn't want to see how far his healing factor would go tonight. The teens raced out of the building as everything began to fall apart. With moments Cadms was nothing more than rubble. Silence filled the area before metal claws burst through some of the concrete and Naruto busted his way out.

"Fuck," he muttered as blood filled his vision. He wiped it off with arm as he took a long look at himself. His orange shirt was in tatters and covered in blood. Some of the blood was his own and some were from others. He felt his wounds healing and closing around his body and popped his knuckles. Naruto looked around to see Superboy lifting a large piece of rubble off of him and the others, causing him to sigh in relief. He saw Superboy approach the unconscious Desmond.

"We did it," Aqualad stated joyously.

"Was there ever any doubt." Robin cheered with a smirk as he hi-fived Kid Flash. Both of them grabbed their sides in pain.

"See." Superboy turned away from Desmond to look at Kid Flash. "The moon." Superboy looked up and became mesmerized by the pale piece of rock floating in the sky. His eyes narrowed as a figure flew through the air and hovered in front of the group before coming to a stop on the ground. Naruto could only stare in shock as the world's most powerful hero stood before him. "Oh and Superman too! Man do we keep our promises or what!?" Soon more leaguers surrounded them. Some of them Naruto recognized and some of them Naruto had never seen before in his life, but he regarded each person carefully. After all, you had to be pretty powerful to join a group like the Justice League.

Superboy walked forward and lifted a part of his ripped suit to show his 'S' shield to Superman who looked on in shock.

"Is that what I think it is?" Batman questioned as he stepped forward.

"He doesn't like to be called it." Kid Flash butted in as Batman changed his look to the teens.

"I'm Superman's clone!" Superboy announced causing the entire League to look on with widened eyes in surprise.

"Start talking," Batman ordered with a stern look. Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes as Robin started to explain the events to his mentor. Most of the sticks had been crushed after so many fights and being tossed around all day, but one was still on one piece causing Naruto to smirk. He popped it into his mouth as a woman approached him.

The woman before him was stunningly attractive. Long blonde hair fell down a slender yet toned form. She was wearing a black one-piece bustier-leotard combination that strained against her considerable bust, gray stockings, black calf-length boots, fingerless gloves that stretched up her arm and stopped at her biceps, a blue jacket, and to finish off her look she had a black choker. Naruto was so caught off guard he almost dropped his cigarette.

"Hold up. You are way too young to be smoking." The woman said as Naruto lit the cigarette.

"Lady I have had a stressful couple of days. I have been shot, stabbed, clawed, bitten, smashed, and thrown. And to top it all off I had a building fall on top of me. So please don't lecture me on my use of cancer sticks." Naruto dryly replied as he took a deep drag. The woman frowned before reaching over and plucking the cigarette from his mouth. She dropped into the ground and snuffed it out under booth. "What the hell lady!"

"Cigarettes are bad for you." She said simply before walking away to talk with another group of leaguers. Naruto forgot about the cigarette due to his eyes finding something more interesting to look at.

"Will figure something out for you... The league will, I mean. For now, I better make sure they get that Blockbuster creature squared away." Naruto heard Superman say. He turned to see the man of steel lifting off into the sky and Naruto frowned. He couldn't imagine how Superboy felt because he had never had a father to his knowledge.

"Cadmus will be investigated." The dark knight said as he approached the group of teens. "All 52 levels. But let's make one thing clear-"

"You should have called!" Flash interupted.

"End results aside, we are not happy. You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders, and endangered lives. You will not be doing this again."

"I am sorry," Aqualad replied. "But we will."

"Aqualad stand down!"Aquaman ordered.

"Apologies my king. But no." Aqualad said to his king as he bowed his head and placed his hand over his heart. "We did good work tonight. The work that you trained us to do. Together. All on our own, we forged something powerful. Something important."

"Is this about your treatment?" Flash asked with a frown. "The three of you-"

"The five of us." Kid Flash stopped his mentor. Naruto's eyes widened as Kid Flash smiled and nodded at him. He hadn't expected that.

"And we're ready to do what you taught us," Robin said stepping forward. "Or why teach us at all?"

"Why let them decide?" Superboy questioned. "It's simple. Get on board, or get out of the way."

"I never thought all this would happen when I came to D.C.," Naruto said drawing the attention to him. "But these punks stuck their necks out for me. So I stand with them. And besides," Naruto smirked. "I think we're just getting started." Batman's eye narrowed at the whiskered blonde as he stood next to his new friends.

* * *

 _July 8, 2010_

 _Happy Harbor, Rhode Island_

"This cave was the original sanctuary of the Justice League. We're calling it into service again." Batman told the gathered teens in front of him. "Since you, five are intent on staying together, to fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms. Red Tornado has volunteered to stay here and be your supervisor while Black Canary is in charge of training."

Black Canary looked around the room before her eyes settled on the approaching figure of Naruto.

Naruto was now wearing combat gear similar to Robins or Batmans. His torso and chest were covered by orange and black kevlar that stopped at his bicep showing his powerful arms. The rest of Naruto's gear consisted of black trousers, orange combat boots, and gloves and to finish his look off his head was covered by an orange and black mask.

"What do you guys think?" Naruto asked with a smirk as he pulled the mask back.

"It's very..." Aqualad said trying to find the right words.

"Orange is the word Aqualad is looking for." Kid Flash spoke up with a grin.

"Hey, orange is a badass color." Naruto defended his favorite color as he crossed his arms.

"Can we get back on topic," Batman said stopping the teens. "I'll be in charge of deploying you on missions.

"Real missions?" Robin asked trying to see if his mentor was lying to them.

"Yes. But covert."

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff," Flash said as he pointed to his chest. "There's a reason we have these big targets on us."

"Cadmus proves that the bad guys are getting smarter. Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly." Aquaman said as he turned to Batman.

And the six of you will be that team."

"Cool Wait... Six?" Robin questioned as Batman pointed to behind them. Naruto saw the Martian Manhunter enter the room with another martian. This martian was a young girl that physically looked to be about his age. She had shoulder-length red hair and was wearing a white top with a red x along with a blue cape, gloves, skirt, and ankle-high boots.

"This Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian." Batman introduced.

"Hi." Miss Martian said cheerily as she approached the teens.

"I'm liking this more and more!" Kid Flash said to Robin. "Hello there. I'm Kid Flash and that's Robin and Aqualad, but feel free to forget them." He said as Naruto stepped forward and elbowed him in the ribs.

"Take it easy Kid Mouth. Don't want to scare the new girl off on her first day." Naruto joked before he turned to Miss Martian. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss M. Welcome to the team."

Miss Martian blushed at the other teen before shifting her shirt from white to orange taking Naruto by surprise. "It's nice to meet you too... I like your outfit." She noticed Superboy hanging out in the background.

" Hey, Superboy come and meet our new teammate," Naruto said without turning around. Superboy reluctantly came forward and joined the rest of his team in welcoming.

"Today is the day," Aqualad said happily as he watched the teens gathered around each other.

* * *

Water was up to his knees and Naruto wasn't sure why. One minute he was falling asleep in his new room and the next he was in this sewer.

"Wait... I've been here before." Naruto realized as he moved through the sewer. Only one time before had he been here. In a dream that was far more lifelike than he liked. He found himself in front of a cage. "No tornados yet."

 **"It time that we talked boy."** Naruto's eyes widened in shock as a massive body moved through the darkness of the cage.

"Who are you!" Naruto demanded as he popped his claws out. '"how yourself!" He didn't care how big this thing was. He cut a new one into the voice that had haunted him since day one.

 **"Who are you to demand anything out of me, boy."** Naruto could see two angry red orbs glaring at him and he glared right back with a snarl on his face.

"I'm the guy without any answers and you seem to know me better than I do!" Naruto roared as the red eyes stopped and narrowed at him.

 **"Very well."** The massive being came closer until Naruto got a good look at it. It was a fox only the size of a skyscraper and far more fierce than any small canine should look. Deep red-orange fur covered its body and its claws were as big as his torso. **"You asked so I will show. I am the mighty Kyuubi No Kitsune. The Nine-Tailed Fox! And you boy are my jailer."**

"Whoa..." Naruto said in shock as he stepped back.

This was not what he was expecting.

* * *

Guess who's back. And man was this chapter fun to write. The Team has come together. For anyone that's wondering Naruto's costume is based on Wolverine's from the first couple seasons of X-Men Evolution.

Anyway, I got another new chapter for a different story to finish so I'm gonna get back to that. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and managed to survive Black Friday. See ya later.

Also, I guess I should mention that I don't own Naruto or DC or Marvel. That's kind of important.


	7. Chapter 7: Welcome to Happy Harbor

**Happy Harbor**

 **July 18, 2010**

Naruto's motorcycle roared as he sped down a backroad with no destination in mind. His head had been filled with thoughts regarding a conversation with a nine-tailed fox. He shook his head as he brought his bike to a stop. Thinking about his... tenant for a lack of better term made him both angry and confused. The Kyuubi as it was called was a being Naruto couldn't even fathom.

After all how many people could say that they had a giant fox living in their gut?

Naruto popped a cigarette into his mouth with a hum as he climbed a nearby hill. Quickly lighting it, Naruto took a drag and let his thoughts drift back to the offer Kyuubi had given him.

(Flashback)

 ** _"So I've driven the great loudmouth into silence! My greatest accomplishment!"_** _The towering fox laughed with a grin._

 _"What... What is going on." Naruto said as his body began to shake. This can't be real. This was a dream. No, a nightmare. "I need to wake up."_

 ** _"There is no waking up from this brat."_** _The creature stated as it brought its head down to Naruto's level. The only thing preventing it from snapping at Naruto was the massive bars blocking its way. Naruto got a good look at its enormous fangs and piercing red eyes. So very familiar as well._

 _"I know you from so where..."_

 ** _"I should hope so. I've only been stuck in this hell since you were born!"_** _The Kyuubi roared as it bared its fangs at Naruto. Naruto's claws burst from his hands in case he needed them. **"Hmph. At least you still have some nerve in you."**_

 _"What are you!?" Naruto demanded with claws raised._

 ** _"Is that any way to talk to an old friend?"_** _The fox asked with a chuckle._

 _"Still figuring out what friends are. Most of the time they act like foes." Naruto returned not dropping his claws._

 ** _"Even after I helped you?"_**

 _That got Naruto to stop and lower his claws. The strange power he had wielded at Cadmus. Running faster and creating clones. Abilities he had never had until Kyuubi had begun to communicate with him._

 _"What do you know about it?"_

 ** _"Perhaps I do know about_** _ **it**..."_ _The Fox said with a smirk. **"But why would I tell you anything?"**_

 _"Hey were stuck together remember. The more we get along, the better off we'll be." Naruto replied as the fox seemed to mull his words over._

 _ **"I'll give you some answers... Some other time."** Kyuubi finally said. **"Just remember. Learning about your past and your abilities are two very dangerous roads."**_

 _"Hold on wait!" Naruto yelled out._

 ** _"Begone!"_** _The massive fox roared as Naruto was forced out of his mind._

 _(End Flashback)_

Since that night, Naruto hadn't heard a wink out of the strange being that resided in his gut. Weeks spent waiting to hear back from the fox and it was driving Naruto crazy. His newest lead was toying with him and there was nothing that Naruto could do about it. The Kyuubi had knowledge that Naruto desperately wanted.

By now his cigarette was just about at its end. Naruto spat it out of his mouth and snuffed it out under his boot. Riding his bike usually helped clear his head but it wasn't enough today. When he was living in Gotham he would have gone out looking for a fight but there wasn't anything like that in Happy Harbor. It was a quiet little town for the most part and why the Justice League ever needed to set up shop here was a mystery to the blonde.

What he needed was a mission. Batman had been just as silent as the fox that was living in his gut though and being cooped up for so long was getting boring. There was however an upside to his new place of residence. The shapely green martian girl that slept down the hallway for one. Miss Martian, or Megan as she liked to be called was his one source of social interaction lately and Naruto was happy to say that she was quickly growing to be one of his best friends. The bubbly girl was eager to make friends and seeing as Superboy was still rather antisocial, Naruto was her only option.

The blonde and the martian girl talked about everything. There likes and dislikes and why they joined the team. It was nice to have someone to talk to again, though Naruto had left certain liberties about his past out of there conversations. Even though he enjoyed talking to Megan there were times he missed the talks he would have with Jason who never held back and talked crudely for a kid. Or Ted who he talked about fighting styles with. And a certain blonde beauty that would enter his thoughts from time to time. He knew he needed to talk to them, but that was easier said than done. Disappearing in the middle the night had a way of pissing people off.

"I need to stop being such a brooder. It doesn't do me any good." Naruto joked to himself as he watched several vehicles fly by on the road below. One vehicle, in particular, caught his eye. It was a large RV that was on its way into Happy Harbor. Most of the time Naruto wouldn't have paid any attention, but this time his eyes followed it as it drove past. A young girl was sitting in the back watching the world go by from her window. She noticed Naruto standing next to his bike and cheerfully waved to him. Naruto returned the wave with his bright smile.

"Need to get a move on. Wonder if Megan made anything to eat?" Naruto said to himself as he climbed back onto his bike. Starting it up Naruto roared the bike to life and took off down the road. He came to a stop and prepared to go right when several honking horns filled the air followed by a loud explosion that echoed from the down the road.

"What the hell..." Naruto muttered to himself as he turned to see a cloud of black smoke filling the air. "Oh no." Speeding his bike down the road he came to a sight that caused his eyes to widen in shock.

The RV from before was in front of him only this time it was on its side and under several train cars. Naruto took in the rest of the surroundings. A train was also on its side and fire was everywhere. Several workers were helping a couple out of the wrecked RV. The couple was hacking up smoke and desperately trying to catch their breaths. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he sped down there. The couple consisted of a tall middle-aged dark-skinned man with short hair wearing a blue button-shirt and khakis while the woman was around the same age with long red hair

"Erica..." The woman that was pulled out of the RV muttered weakly as realization took over her features. "Where's Erica!?" She shouted as the man looked to the RV.

"She's still inside!" The man ran towards the wreckage but was forced back by an explosion. Naruto brought his bike to a halt. Quickly getting off Naruto stepped towards the wreck.

"Wait! You can't go in there!" One of the workers said trying to stop Naruto.

"Don't worry about me," Naruto said pushing past the worker and popping his claws out causing everyone to look on in shock. Naruto ran through the flames and cut a hole into the RV.

He hated fire. Naruto had no idea why he would but a gut feeling told him he had a bad relationship with flames.

"Where are you kid," Naruto said trying to see through the smoke. Smoke began to fill his lungs and could already feel his skin burning yet he ignored it. He had to find the girl and if he had to push through some discomfort to find her then so be it. "Kid!"

"Here..." Naruto heard a whisper. Pushing past debris he found the same young girl from before huddled within the wreckage of the RV. "Help me..." She muttered.

"Let's get you out here," Naruto said with a kind smile as he picked her up and began to race out of the RV.

Naruto could smell it coming. The whole place was about to go up and Naruto didn't think he was fast enough. He could smell the gas, enough to cause an explosion that would wipe out the kid and really hurt him.

"Maybe..." Naruto said with a smirk as he thought about the energy Kyuubi had told him about. He just had to draw on it right. Remembering how that overgrown furball had worded it, Naruto began to channel the familiar energy into his legs. Naruto let loose a grin as he moved much faster out of the wreckage. "Hang on kid!" Naruto warned as they made it out. Naruto bent his knees and jumped out of the way as the RV and train went up in flames.

Naruto had never felt so good. The jump he had made must have been more than thirty feet. He could feel the flames burning him across his back yet he didn't care. This feeling of power coursing through him as he and Erica finally began to plummet down was damn near intoxicating.

"We're falling!" Erica cried out with panic in her voice. Naruto narrowed his eyes and maneuvered them so that he would hit the ground first.

"This is gonna hurt," Naruto said dryly as they finally slammed into the ground. If he thought the burns on his back were bad before they were only worsened. A hiss of pain escaped his mouth as Erica slowly got off him.

"Mommy?" Erica said as she looked around before eyes finally settled on his mom and dad.

"Erica!" The mother rushed forward and embraced her daughter. The father came over and helped Naruto to his feet. The burns on his back were already healing and closing causing the man's eyes to widen.

"You saved my daughter..." The man said gratefully with a smile.

"Yeah, that was a close one," Naruto said with a chuckle. The man looked at Naruto before hugging him. Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"Thank you."

"Hey don't mention it," Naruto replied with an awkward pat on the man's back. "Now go be with your kid. She looks like she could use her dad." The man nodded and went over and embraced his wife and daughter. Naruto smiled at the scene.

 _'I could get used to this hero stuff.'_ Naruto thought with a smile as walked over to his motorcycle. His job was done and now he was really hungry.

"Wait!" Naruto stopped and turned to see the family. "You saved our daughter's life. There has to be something we can-"

"Gonna stop you right there. Didn't do it for a reward. Just please don't mention this to anyone. Secret identity and all that!" Naruto said as he started up the motorcycle. He really didn't care if anyone knew he had powers, but he did have people that could be at risk if someone knew where he was.

Maybe he didn't need that dumb fox after all.

"At least give us your name." The man tried one last time. "My name is Randy and this is my wife Abagail."

"And I'm Erica!" Erica shouted with a grin.

Naruto chuckled at the family's determination to know him. "My name is Naruto and it was a pleasure to meet you." And with one final wave of his hand, he was off.

* * *

 **Mount Justice**

M'gann M'orzz or Megan Morse as she was choosing to call herself while she lived on earth, was having a pleasant enough day as she started to stir cookie batter in a bowl. Cooking was one of her favorite hobbies and she figured it would be nice to share a treat with teammates. Her first roommate/teammate was off training which didn't surprise her as Superboy could be rather... unapproachable. He wasn't mean by any means, but the young teen went out of his way to avoid people.

Her other roommate was out riding his motorcycle or in his own words 'Having a bit of fun before tall, dark, and brooding sends us out on a mission.'. Naruto was an enigma to her. He looked like a wild animal, yet was the most kind and welcoming of the team. He was also the one with an unknown past and rather interesting abilities. He was also her unofficial taste tester for everything she cooked.

The roar of a motorcycle broke her out of her thoughts and alerted her to her approaching teammate. Putting the bowl down on the counter, she quickly ran to Mount Justice's entrance.

Megan got there to see Naruto shutting off his bike and his appearance was startling. The grey t-shirt he was wearing was in burnt tatters and was barely hanging onto his frame and showed off his well built upper torso and he smelled like he had been rolling around in a bonfire.

"Oh my god, what happened to you?!" Megan asked she began to check Naruto over for any injuries.

"Hey Megs!" Naruto greeted with a smile that soon turned into a laugh, "I'm fine, I swear. I just ran into a little accident while I was out riding."

"What kind of accident has you coming home and looking like this?"

"The one that requires my kind of abilities," Naruto said with shrug. "Now what is that wonderful smell coming from the kitchen..." Naruto made his way into the kitchen with Megan following. "And what do we have here. Cookie batter and chocolate chip from what my nose is telling me." He tried to steal a little bit of the delicious treat, but Megan smacked his hand.

"Don't even think about mister. These cookies are for the team, not just you."

"Okay, okay!" Naruto said with his foxy grin that never ceased to make her blush. "I take it kid mouth and boy wonder are coming over to meet Red Tornado." Naruto had almost forgotten that the android was coming to today with all the excitement from earlier.

"Yep! We're hoping Red Tornado will have a mission for us." Megan said cheerfully.

"Well here's to hoping we get a mission. I was getting a little stir crazy." Naruto admitted as he began to walk away. "I'm gonna go grab a shower, let me know when Red Tornado shows up."

"Sure thing Naruto." The Martian girl said as Naruto stepped out of the kitchen and moved toward his room. He ripped what was left of his shirt off and threw it into a trash can.

Naruto heard a ringing coming from his pocket and pulled out his phone. Surprised to see it still working, Naruto answered the phone as he entered his room and sat in a nearby chair.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Naruto!" Naruto recognized the voice on the other end.

"Heather! And here I thought my favorite nerd girl had forgotten about little old me." Naruto said with a smile.

"You? Never." Heather replied with a giggle. "So how's this new team treating you?"

"I'm still on the fence on whether this is a good idea," Naruto answered as his smile turned into a slight frown. It wasn't that Naruto didn't like his teammates. They were, in fact, some of the closest things he had to friends. They had worked together to escape Cadmus together. The problem was that he was unsure if he was hero material.

"You were telling me you had gotten close to some of them. The Martian one."

"Miss M," Naruto answered not giving away her real name. "She's a cool chick. Very sweet. And Kaldur and I get along awesome. But do you really think I'm cut out for this hero gig?"

"You know I think you are," Heather answered with confidence. The Canadian scientist had been his biggest source of encouragement and Naruto was always looking to her for advice. "Just give it a trial period. If things don't work out well then you always have a place up here with me and James."

"How is Jimmy?" Naruto asked glad to change the subject.

"He has a new assignment! He's heading out later this week to try out a new invention of his. Can't get too into details..."

"Yep, I already know the drill." He finished for her with a chuckle.

* * *

"Recognize B-01: Robin. Recognize B-03, Kid Flash." The teleported announced as Kid Flash and Robin appeared in a burst of light and stepped into the Cave. Miss Martian, Superboy, and Aqualad were gathered around a large monitor, and Kid and Robin joyed their teammates.

"Did you ask him?" Robin asked excitedly. Him being Red Tornado, the team's new watcher. The wind controlling android had volunteered to be the den-mother to the team and was supposed to arrive today.

"What did he say?" Kid Flash followed up as Aqualad smiled at his friends.

"He's arriving now." He informed the two as they shared identical smirks.

"Then what are we waiting for!" Kid Flash said as he and Robin took off. Aqualad walked after his friends calmly, with Superboy and Miss Martin following.

"Where's Naruto?" Superboy asked with a raised brow as they continued after their teammates.

"He got into some trouble this morning helping some people. He was uninjured thankfully but came back a looking a bit...Rough to say the least." Miss Martian answered.

The entrance to the Cave opened and the gathered teens saw a figure hovering above them with a scarlet tornado keeping him afloat. Red Tornado was a tall humanoid android that was covered in red with a yellow t symbol on its chest and a blue cape.

"Red Tornado!" Kid Flash called out with a wave catching the android's attention. Red Tornado descended and touched the ground in front of the teens.

"Greetings." Red Tornado replied. "Is there a reason you intercepted me outside the cave?"

"We were wondering if you had a mission for us," Aqualad said stepping forward. Even as calm as he was on the outside, he still was eager to get a mission.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility." Red Tornado informed.

"But it's been more than a week-" Robin said before being cut off.

"You will be tested soon enough." Red Tornado said ending any more conversations about missions. "For the time being, simply enjoy each other's company."

"This team is not a social club," Aqualad stated with a frown.

"True, but I am told that social interaction is good for teenagers." Red Tornado replied. "Please keep busy. Use this time as a team-building exercise and familiarize yourself with the cave." With that Red Tornado walked into the Cave leaving the teens to stew in disappointment.

"Keep busy." Kid Flash scowled as he nudged Robin.

"Does he think we're falling for this?" Robin asked aloud

Megan shot him a smile. "I'll find out." She began to concentrate on Red Tornado before shaking her head in defeat. "I'm sorry, I forgot he's a machine, in-organic. I can't read his mind."

"That's a shame... You know what I'm thinking right now?" Kid Flash flirted with a smirk.

"Everyone know's what your thinking," Robin said to his friend as he elbowed him.

"And now we tour the clubhouse, "Aqualad said

"Superboy, Naruto, and I live here. We can play tour guide." Miss Martian offered.

"Don't look at me," Superboy said quickly as Kid Flash and Robin turned to look at him. The man-made Kryptonian was still getting used to being social with others.

"I won't. Besides a private tour sounds much more fun." Kid Flash said as he looked to Megan.

"I thought I smelled desperation." Naruto's voice called out. The blonde was wearing an orange t-shirt, jeans, and white and blue shoes. His hair was still slightly wet from the shower and a teasing grin was on his face. "Turns out its just KF." He turned to Aqualad with his fist out for him to bump it. The Atlantean smirked before making his own fist and bumping against his.

Most would have found it strange that the two had become friends so quickly. Aqualad was a well trained disciplined soldier of Atlantis, while Naruto was a hot-headed teen with a lot of issues. The two were different plain and simple, and yet they quickly became friends.

"Dude!" Kid Flash said as Robin and Aqualad laughed. Miss Martian let out a giggle and even Superboy chuckled.

"She never actually said a private tour," Robin said to Kid Flash.

"And beside Tornado is right. This could be a chance for us to start to know each other." Naruto said agreeing with the android. Naruto didn't really know why but he liked the crimson robot. Maybe because they both were created in a lab or maybe it was because Red Tornado was one of the few leaguers to not question Naruto. Either way, the android was right. They had just become a team. The best thing to do right now was to start acting like one.

"C'mon we'll show you around," Naruto said as he and Miss Martian led the team in.

"This is the Cave's front entrance."

"And the back way is straight back there," Naruto said pointing to the end of the cave as he began to look around. The Cave was massive and more than large enough to house the three of them. With a gym, training area, kitchen, living area, hanger, and numerous rooms.

"So why did the League ditch this base?" Superboy asked

"The base's location was compromised." Aqualad answered, "The Joker found out and launched a massive attack on the Justice League. Most of the cave was destroyed and it forced the League to move to a new headquarters."

Superboy frowned, "So they traded it in for a tourist trap?" Naruto smirked at the wording the Kryptonian clone used. When he had first heard of the Hall of Justice a similar thought had crossed his mind. Why have their bases be so open to the public and the answer was simple.

They wouldn't.

 _"Look underneath the underneath..."_ A memory flashed through his mind and Naruto shook it off. Now was not the time for

"Wait, if the bad guys know where we are then we must be on constant alert!" Miss Martian said with wide eyes.

"The bad guys don't know that we know about them knowing the location of the cave." Robin laughed and Miss Martian looked at him in confusion.

"He means to say we're hiding in plain sight." Kid Flash explained with a grin.

"Oh." Cute. That was how Naruto would describe the Martian girl. "That makes sense."

"Hey, what's that smell?" Superboy cut in as he sniffed the air.

"OH, my cookies!" Miss Martian cried as she flew down the hallway to the kitchen with the team following.

Miss Martian stopped mid-air in surprise. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, holding a tray of cookies was another Naruto.

"Naruto! I told you to stay out of the cookies!"

"I couldn't help it. Hey, boss!" The Naruto standing with the team said with a wave. In a puff of smoke, the Naruto was gone

"Dude that is seriously weird." Kid Flash voiced his thoughts as the Naruto holding the tray smirked and bit into a cookie.

"Damn Megs that is a delicious cookie," Naruto said as he placed the tray in front of the team.

"Thank you, Naruto." Miss Martian blushed, "I was just trying out Grammie Jone's recipe from episode... You know what nevermind."

"Well, they taste great!" Kid Flash said with a mouthful of cookie.

"I'll guess I'll have to make more." Miss Martian said with a smile.

"It was sweet of you to make any," Aqualad said as he ate a cookie.

"Thanks, Aqualad."

"We're off duty. Call me Kaldurahm. In fact, my friends call me Kaldur."

"My name is Wally." Wally leaned forward with a grin, "See how I trust you with my secret I.D unlike Mr. Dark Shades over there. Batman has forbidden him from giving out his name." Robin sent a small glare aimed at his friend.

"Well, my name is no secret. Its M'gann M'orzz. But you can call me Megan. That's an earth name and I'm on earth now."

Superboy turned away from the conversation and began to walk away. ' _Don't worry Superboy. We'll find you an Earth name too.'_ Superboy stopped in his tracks, eyes winding in shock.

"Get out of my head!" Superboy yelled catching everyone off guard.

 _'What's wrong? Back on Mars, everyone talked telepathically.'_

"Megan stop!" Kaldur ordered, "That's an invasion of privacy here on Earth."

"Guys chill out," Naruto said as he bit into another cookie. The only calm one out of the assembled teens. "You're freaking out on her for using her powers. And for a reason, she didn't even know." Naruto got why Superboy wouldn't want anyone voicing their thoughts inside his head especially with what the assholes at Cadmus had put him through. That still didn't excuse him from being a jerk. Superboy shot him a glare that he returned not backing down.

"Both of you calm down," Kaldur said cutting in and forcing the two to look elsewhere. Superboy aimed his glare at Megan.

"Just stay out of my head." The clone growled before stomping over to a nearby couch.

Megan looked around sadly and Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't mind him. Cadmus's G-nomes left a nasty little psychic taste on his brain." Naruto explained to her. She nodded in understanding before a grin broke out on her face.

"Hello, Megan! I know what we can do." The Martian girl exclaimed. She flew through the air and towards the hanger with all the teens following except Naruto and Superboy.

"You coming?" Naruto asked the other teen who looked down. "Sulking in the dark is Batman's thing. Come on. Let's see what she has to show us."

Superboy sighed in annoyance then stood up and moved to follow the blonde. Naruto let out a chuckle as they moved through the hallway. Superboy couldn't figure the blonde out. One minute he was ready to defend the Martian girl and the next he was trying to get Superboy more involved. He was strange, but not in a bad way. Just in a way the was suited to Naruto. The Kryptonian clone nodded and followed Naruto out.

They found the team gathered around a red egg-like object. Miss Martian giggle at Naruto's confused face.

"This is my Martian bio-ship. Its how I arrived on Earth. Pretty neat huh?" She asked with a small blush.

"You said its a ship right? So why does it look so... round I guess?"

"It's in its dormant state silly. I just need to wake it up." Megan waved her hand and the bio-ship began to change. It became more aerodynamic and built for flight.

"Okay, that was sweet." Naruto said with a grin, "Now we just need to test it out!"

"Dude I am totally in." Wally agreed with an equally large grin.

"It would be a good team bonding." Robin finished as Aqualad sighed and shook his head.

 _'Why am I the most mature one here.'_ The Atlantean thought to himself.

"Well, I don't see why not..." Megan replied as she sent another thought to the ship, causing it to open. The teens walked into the ship and took seats with Megan sitting in the middle. Two lights appeared in front of her and she gripped them as if they were handles. "Red Tornado, please open the hangar doors." Megan requested as the ship raised itself up and flew out of the cave.

"Whoa!" Naruto said as the ship flew through the air. Excitement filled him as they flew through the clouds. Flying on a plane was one thing but this was so much better.

"This is incredible," Robin said with a grin of his own.

"She sure is," Wally said without realizing it. The others turned to look at Wally whose eyes widened comically. "The ship! The ship is incredible. Because all ships are shes." He said trying to cover his slip up.

"Smooth Kid Mouth. Real smooth." Naruto said with a laugh that Robin shared.

"Dude!" Wally called out with an embarrassed look on his face.

Kaldur was sitting in the back of the ship nxt to Superboy who seemed to still be sulking. A look of uncertainty was on his face.

"I know what your thinking..." The Atlantean whispered to the Kryptonian clone. "You over-reacted and now you don't how to apologize. Just say you're sorry." Superboy still looked unsure of himself as he turned to look at Megan who was chatting with Naruto.

"Don't worry about him." The blonde said to the Martian girl. Naruto knew for a fact that the red-headed martian girl wanted friends. "Our friend back there is a stubborn teme but he'll come around."

"You know he can hear you right?" Wally asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep!" Naruto answered with a grin. "So Megan you can shift right?" Megan smiled before standing up and turning into a female version of Robin. "That is so cool!" Next, she turned into a female version of Wally.

"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?" Wally asked as Naruto and Robin turned to the speedster.

"Yes." Both said in a deadpan voice at the same time causing Wally to pout.

"You guys suck."

"Anyway. As cool as this is you know these won't fool anyone right?" Robin informed

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder," Megan said sheepishly with a small blush.

"And your clothes?" Kaldur asked.

"They're organic! Just like the ship, they respond to my mental commands." As soon as Superboy heard those words leave Megan's mouth, she had his attention.

"As long as they're the only ones..." The clone said with a snort. Megan looked away sadly.

"Zip in jerk," Naruto growled with narrowed eyes causing Superboy to glare at him challengingly. The clone's attitude was grating on the blonde's nerves.

"What about that ghosting thing that your uncle does?" Wally asked breaking the tension in the ship. Naruto and Superboy were to damn alike. Both were hotheaded idiots that weren't afraid to but heads.

"Phasing? That's an advanced level Martian technique and I haven't quite got the hang of it yet." Megan answered with a disappointed frown.

"That's okay. The whole point to this team is to learn how to improve!" Naruto said reassuringly. "We'll help you get stronger!"

"He's right. And besides KF can't vibrate through walls yet. Every time he tries he gets a nosebleed."

"Dude!" Wally cried out as Naruto grinned at him.

"Man you are to easy Wally. Hehe."

"Oh yeah, what's your name mean again? Fishcake!" It was KF's turn to laugh as Naruto slouched in his seat and growled.

"It means maelstrom you-"

 _"Red Tornado to team."_ The android spoke through the radio. _"An alarm went off at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest you investigate... Covertly."_

"You got it Tornado were on our way," Naruto replied as the ship flew to the Power Plant. "Heh, maybe we'll see some action finally." Excitement filled him at the prospect of a fight.

"Doubt it Nar," Robin said to his teammate.

"You never know. A simple investigation at Cadmus led you to find our favorite Kryptonian." Naruto said with his thumb pointed behind him at Superboy.

"Good point."

"I wonder what caused the alarm to go off?" Megan asked as Superboy looked out the window with widened eyes.

"I'm guessing it was that!" The clone answered as a tornado engulfed the ship. The ship tossed about and everyone held onto something as Megan was forced to land the ship.

"I'm gonna be sick." Naruto shook himself loose as a sharp grin took over his face. They dropped out if the ship and landed the ground and watched as the tornado tore across a parking lot.

"Robin... Are tornados common in New England?" Kadur asked his friend only to notice that he was gone. "Robin?"

"Boy wonder went that way. Let's go join him." Naruto said as the team ran after there missing member. The wind picked up, even more, causing the windows of the Plant to blow out narrowly missing the teens as they ran into the building just to see Robin get blown into a pillar and drop to the floor.

"Friend of yours?" Superboy asked as he ran over and helped Robin up.

"Nope, but he sure does play rough," Robin answered with a frown as they looked at the culprit. It was a tall red robot wearing a brown scarf around its neck.

Snikt! Naruto's claws popped out of his hands. The metallic claws caught the robot's attention who let out a chuckle.

"Forgive me for my rudeness. You can call me Twister. Mr. Twister." The android said as he raised his hand and sent another tornado at the team.

"Move!" Naruto shouted as he pushed Megan and Superboy out of the way, taking the full force of the hit. Superboy charged at the android with a snarl only to be blown away as well.

"This is boring." The villain said as Kid Flash ran at him with super speed. He did a flip through the air and went to kick Twister only to be blown away as well. "I wanted to be challenged by a real hero. Not by some...children." Megan flew at him as Kaldur charged. "Futile." Again he blocked them with tornados which forced them away.

"Would you shut up already!" Naruto shouted with claws at the ready. "For a robot your awfully lippy."

"I suppose it's your turn to charge in and get blown away." Twister taunted.

"No, I'm gonna claw right through you," Naruto growled as he lunged at Twister who launched another tornado. Naruto stuck his claws into the ground as the fierce wind blew around him. With a growl, he pushed off the ground, flipped through the air, and came down with his claws at the ready. Twister stepped back as Naruto brought his claw down creating a slash down Twister's chest.

"You pest!" Twister roared as Naruto jabbed his other claw into Twister's shoulder. Wind picked up around Twister's legs and he flew through the air with Naruto still attached to him. "Let's see how you like it up here!" The robot spun through the air trying to dislodge the blonde, but Naruto hung on for dear life.

"Your gonna have to do better than that." Naruto taunted. Twister raised his hand and channeled electricity into it then shoved its hand onto Naruto. The clawed teenager lit up like a light bulb and broke his concentration. He fell and he fell hard.

"How was that?" The android asked as Naruto fell back to the ground in a heap.

"Ow... Okay, that was painfully better." Naruto moaned as he got to his feet. _"Note to self. Electricity hurts a lot. And I can hear you laughing you shithead!"_

 ** _"Come on that was hilarious. You just went bzzzt! So god damn funny."_ **The fox howled as Naruto growled in annoyance. He jumped through the air at Twister who was still hovering mid-air. With a raise of his, hand Twister sent Naruto right back down.

"I can do this all day boy." The android said as Naruto fell.

"Shit. Shit. SHIIT!" Naruto said in a panic as he fell headfirst towards the ground. only to stop right before he hit the ground. With a turn of his head, he saw Megan and the others approaching him.

"I got you Naruto," Megan reassured as she placed Naruto down.

"Whew, thanks Megs," Naruto said as he glared at the hovering Twister. "Anyone got any ideas."

"Megan read his mind," Kaldur ordered as Megan looked at him in shock.

"But you said that was a bad thing," Megan said with wide eyes.

"Not when it's the bad guys!" Robin exclaimed. With a nod, Megan concentrated on Twister, trying to feel any thoughts going through only to realize that it wasn't working.

"Nothing! I'm getting nothing." Megan said as she realized what Twister was. "Hello, Megan! He's inorganic and he generates tornados! He's Red Tornado in disguise!"

"That's not Tornado," Naruto said as he continued to glare. "Smells completely off. Red Tornado is a mix of scents while this guy smells like he just came out of the lab."

"Oh..." Megan said dejectedly.

"Easy mistake Megan," Naruto reassured with a grin that caused Megan to blush. "But my nose doesn't lie and besides Red Tornado never had a mouth like this asshole..."

"None of our attacks can get through. Every time we try he just sends us flying!" Wally said frustrated.

'That's because we're close combat fighters. He's a long distanced fighter." Wind was perfect for long distanced attacks and tornados were hard to get through.

 ** _"You could cut through_** **_it."_** The Kyuubi advised.

 _"What do you mean?"_

 ** _"Channel your chakra into your claws and you can disrupt the flow of the machine's tornado."_**

 _"That could work but I'll need some force behind me..."_ A crazy idea came to Naruto. He began to channel chakra through his body not just his claws. A bright blue aura of energy surrounded Naruto causing his teammates to step away as a wild grin took over his face.

"Wow! Now that's something." Naruto said energized. Power flowed through him like nothing he had felt before. Or at least that he could remember.

 ** _"Hmph... Maybe you're not as hopeless as I thought you were."_** The Fox muttered as Naruto bolted forward in an incredible burst of speed. This was child play compared to what they used to be capable of, but it was the right track as far he was concerned.

"He's fast,"Superboy stated as Naruto charged at Twister who tried to stop the blonde with tornados.

"He's not that fast..." Wally mumbled as Naruto dove through the air and spun with one arm forward. Chakra swirled around him.

"DRILL CLAW/ ** _DRILL CLAW_**!" Naruto and his inner demon roared together as they cut through the wind like a hot knife through butter. Naruto felt his claws pierce into the metal body of Twister and an explosion engulfed the two.

"NARUTO!" Megan screamed and the team ran forward.

"We have to hurry an explosion like that-" Robin shouted.

"Would have killed a normal person," Naruto said as he stepped through the smoke. His clothes were burnt in several places and Naruto patted them out as burns on his face healed. "Now that had style wouldn't you say?"

"How in the hell did you do that?" Wally asked in shock. They had all thought that his claws and his accelerated healing were his abilities. Now the blonde could pop out clones and move at speeds comparable to a speedster.

"Honestly... I have no freakin idea." Naruto answered with a shrug of his shoulders causing the others to stare at him in disbelief. "What?"

"You continue to surprise me, my friend," Kaldur said with a smile as Naruto tossed something in the air like a ball.

"Look what I got off of Mr. Roboto." It was the robotic eyeball of Twister.

"Sweet!" Wally said as he zoomed forward and snatched it out of the air. "First team trophy! A nice little souvenir." Wally said before a look of disgust crossed his face. "Dude you smell like a burning car."

"I just drilled through a robot!" Naruto snapped as he to sniffed the air. "Damn it I just got the smell of smoke off me!"

* * *

"This Mr. Twister is cause for concern." Red Tornado said as he looked over what was left of Mister Twister.

"You think someone is looking for you? I mean this guy could pass for your double." Naruto replied.

"It does seem to be built to replace you," Kaldur said in agreement.

"Indeed. I will look further into this. This Twister was searching for me." Red Tornado said.

"But what if whoever built Twister comes looking for you again?" Megan asked worriedly.

"Consider this matter closed. This is my battle. Not yours." Red Tornado answered as he began to walk away.

"Batman or Flash would have taken a more active approach with us," Wally said to Robin who nodded.

"Well if we have to have a babysitter a heartless machine is probably the best for the job." Robin returned.

"That's harsh, man."

"And also untrue. I do have a heart. Carbon steel alloy in fact. I also have excellent hearing. " Red Tornado said as Robin and Wally looked sheepishly at the android.

"Busted," Naruto teased with a grin as Robin shot him a sharp look that caused Naruto to laugh.

"I'll strive to be more accurate." The partner to the Batman said with a sheepish smile.

"And more considerate." Kaldur finished for his teammate. Tornado nodded at the teens before walking away.

"Well, that was an exciting day. Anyone else hungry?" Naruto asked aloud.

"I'm thinking pizza!" Wally said with a grin.

"That is the best thing you've said all day."

* * *

"God damn it. I'm really hating this sewer." Naruto mumbled as he found himself once again in front of a massive cell. After a night of bonding and celebrating with the team after defeating Twister, all Naruto wanted to do was sleep.

 **"This is your mind brat. What the hell did you expect it to look like."** Kyuubi chuckled as he laid out in front of Naruto. His massive head was propped up on his human-like hand and he gazed with a rather bored look at the blonde. **"So why are you here now brat?"**

"You helped me before," Naruto stated as he looked down at his hands. "That technique felt... familiar. Why?"

 **"It felt familiar because you created it years ago."**

"So I've always had these claws..."

 **"No."** The fox answered.

"What?!" Confusion filled Naruto.

 **"If I recall correctly you've had those claws for roughly two years. Those damn bastards gave them to you. To make you a better weapon or something along those lines."** Kyuubi answered bluntly. **"Now chakra you've had for your entire life."**

"What in the hell is chakra?" Naruto questioned. This was crazy. Having a giant fox in you was crazy. But so was becoming a superhero. Naruto had finally just accepted that his life was nuts.

 **"If you're finally ready to learn."** The giant fox began with a sharp grin. **"Then let us began."**

* * *

Hey, guys back at it again with a new chapter. I hope everyone is being safe out there. This pandemic is nuts right now and everyone just needs to stay indoors and write new fics. My advice to you guys.

Drill Claw is an actual move that Wolverine uses in Marvel Vs Capcom.

Till next time dudes


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